- Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo
-
Octavio Ambrosio Larrazolo United States Senator
from New MexicoIn office
December 7, 1928 – March 4, 1929Preceded by Bronson M. Cutting Succeeded by Bronson M. Cutting 4th Governor of New Mexico In office
January 1, 1919 – January 1, 1921Preceded by Washington Ellsworth Lindsey Succeeded by Merritt C. Mechem Personal details Born December 7, 1859
Valle de Allende, Chihuahua, MexicoDied April 7, 1930 (aged 70)
Albuquerque, New MexicoPolitical party Republican Other political
affiliationsDemocratic (until 1911) Residence Las Vegas Profession Attorney Religion Roman Catholicism Octavio Ambrosio Larrazolo (December 7, 1859 – April 7, 1930) served as the fourth Governor of New Mexico and a United States Senator. He was the first United States Senator of Mexican-American heritage.
Larrazolo was born in Valle de Allende in Chihuahua, Mexico, on December 7, 1859. A devoutly religious man, he moved to Tucson, Arizona Territory, in 1870 to study under the bishop of Arizona. He studied theology at the St. Michael's College at Santa Fe, New Mexico Territory, in 1875 and 1876. Larrazolo returned to Tucson to teach in public schools briefly, and then moved to El Paso County, Texas to teach there.
He was appointed clerk of the district court at El Paso, and then clerk of the United States District and Circuit Courts for the Western District of Texas at El Paso. Larrazolo was admitted to the bar in 1888. He was elected district attorney for the western district of Texas in 1890, and reelected in 1892.
Larrazolo moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory, in 1895 and resumed the practice of law. He ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for Delegate to U.S. Congress from the New Mexico Territory in 1890, 1900, and 1908.
In 1911, Larrazolo changed his political affiliations to Republican after the State Convention of the Democratic Party denied his request that half of all statewide nominees be Hispanic to represent the 60 percent of the population of New Mexico that was Hispanic. He was elected Governor of the State of New Mexico in 1918, becoming just the second Hispanic to serve in this role since the territory became a state in 1912. The campaign in 1918, though, was an intense one that exposed some fractions within the Hispanic community. His Democratic opponent, Félix García, claimed that Larrazolo's birth in Chihuahua precluded him from understanding the concerns of “native New Mexicans.” Larrazolo’s narrow victory, however, seemed to quiet most of the debate about whether he could authentically advocate on behalf of the Spanish-speaking population.[1] After serving two years as Governor, he was elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives in 1927 and 1928.
After Senator Andrieus A. Jones died in 1928, Larrazolo ran for the remaining six months of the term. He won, and became the first Hispanic elected to the United States Senate. Larrazolo did not seek reelection due to illness.
Larrazolo died on April 7, 1930, and is interred in Santa Barbara Cemetery in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
References
- ^ John Chávez, The Lost Land: The Chicano Image of the Southwest, (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1984), pp. 102-103.
Political offices Preceded by
Washington E. LindseyGovernor of New Mexico
1919–1921Succeeded by
Merritt C. MechemUnited States Senate Preceded by
Bronson M. CuttingUnited States Senator from New Mexico (District 1)
1929–1930Succeeded by
Bronson M. CuttingGovernors of New Mexico Territorial (1850–1912) State (since 1912) McDonald · C. De Baca · Lindsey · Larrazolo · M. Mechem · Hinkle · Hannett · Dillon · Seligman · Hockenhull · Tingley · Miles · Dempsey · Mabry · E. Mechem · Simms · E. Mechem · Burroughs · E. Mechem · Bolack · Campbell · Cargo · King · Apodaca · King · Anaya · Carruthers · King · Johnson · Richardson · MartinezUnited States Senators from New Mexico Class 1 Class 2 Categories:- 1859 births
- 1930 deaths
- American people of Mexican descent
- American politicians of Mexican descent
- American Roman Catholics
- Governors of New Mexico
- Hispanic and Latino American governors
- Hispanic and Latino American people in the United States Congress
- Members of the New Mexico House of Representatives
- Mexican emigrants to the United States
- Mexican expatriates in the United States
- New Mexico Democrats
- New Mexico Republicans
- People from Chihuahua
- Republican Party state governors of the United States
- Republican Party United States Senators
- Santa Fe University of Art and Design alumni
- United States Senators from New Mexico
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