Former U.S. Senate candidate Lorena Garcia is coming to the Colorado House of Representatives after a vacancy committee elected her to replace resigning Rep. Adrienne Benavidez. 

Garcia is a progressive Democrat and community organizer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2020. She will finish Benavidez’s term representing House District 35, which runs through 2024. The Colorado Democratic Party announced Garcia’s appointment following an election held by the HD 35 vacancy committee Tuesday night. 

“It is an honor to be selected to represent HD 35,” Garcia said in a statement. “I cannot wait to start working with these incredible community leaders to make sure we bring people centered policies that will support the residents of HD 35 and beyond.” 

Garcia won the election in the first round of voting, beating out competing candidates Frances Groff-Gonzales, president of the Westminster Education Association, and Susan McFaddin, a local entrepreneur and former member of the Colorado Governor’s Fellowship Program.

Garcia received 23 votes of the total 39, followed by Groff-Gonzales with 14 votes and McFaddin with two votes, according to Alex Apodaca-Cobell, secretary of the House District 35 Democratic Party. 

Garcia currently serves as CEO of the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition and previously worked as a director of several nonprofit organizations, including Namlo International, 9to5, Colorado Youth Matter and the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights. 

Garcia is joining the state House during a record-breaking session for her party, with Democrats holding more seats than they have in over 80 years.

The state legislature is also majority women for the first time and, with Garcia’s appointment, Colorado now has the largest LGBTQ caucus with 13 members, according to Rep. Brianna Titone, chair of the LGBTQ caucus. 

Benavidez, D-Commerce City, endorsed Garcia as her replacement, seconding her nomination during Tuesday’s vacancy committee meeting. 

Garcia said she was also endorsed by Democrats Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, Rep.-elect Javier Mabrey and Sen. James Coleman. Other lawmakers including Rep. David Ortiz and Rep.-elect Elisabeth Epps applauded Garcia’s win on social media, with Ortiz saying he “couldn’t think of better person” to fill Benavidez’s seat. 

Garcia’s appointment to the state House comes less than one week before the legislature will convene for the new session on Monday. Benavidez announced her resignation two weeks ago, just over a month after she was reelected to serve her fourth and final term in the House. 

While Benavidez did not explain her reason for leaving office in her resignation letter, she was recently passed up on for the role of House Speaker, losing the nomination to Rep. Julie McCluskie. McCluskie also later selected Kennedy as the session’s new speaker pro tempore, replacing Benavidez in the role she held for two years. Benavidez had served in the state House since 2017.