Deborah Mucarsel-Powell ( ; born January 18, 1971) is an American politician and academic administrator who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented a district in the southern

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous coun ...

, including Homestead and the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

. Mucarsel-Powell was the first Ecuadorian-American and first

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n-born immigrant to serve as a member of the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

. She was defeated in her

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

reelection bid by Miami-Dade County mayor Carlos Giménez. As a congresswoman, Mucarsel-Powell voiced support for ousting president

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and was part of a delegation that met with opposition leader

Juan Guaidó Juan Gerardo Antonio Guaidó Márquez (born 28 July 1983) is a Venezuelan politician and opposition figure. He belonged to the social-democratic party Popular Will, and was a federal deputy to the National Assembly representing the state of V ...

when he visited the United States. Before entering politics, Mucarsel-Powell worked for various nonprofits, including the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. She was the associate vice president for advancement and later an associate dean at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. In August 2023, Mucarsel-Powell announced she was running for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

against incumbent Republican

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

. She won the Democratic nomination for the seat on August 20, 2024, but lost to Scott in the general election by over 12 points.

Early life and education

Mucarsel-Powell was born in

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and raised in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, the daughter of Imelda Gil and Guido Mucarsel Yunes. After her parents' divorce, she immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 with her mother and three sisters. She began working in a doughnut shop and continued to work to help support her family, who shared a one-bedroom apartment. In 1995, her father was shot to death outside of his home in Ecuador. Mucarsel-Powell attended Pomona Catholic High School in

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, graduating in 1988. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from

Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was founded in 1963 as a women's college in the Claremont Colleges consortium and became coeducational in 1970. Pitzer enrolls approximately 1000 students. Pitzer off ...

in 1992 and a Master of Arts in international political economy from

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

in 1996.

Early career

Mucarsel-Powell worked for nonprofits, including the Hope Center, Zoo Miami Foundation, and the Coral Restoration Foundation. She worked in fundraising for

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

(FIU) and was the associate vice president for advancement at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Mucarsel-Powell volunteered for the presidential campaigns of

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. In 2016, she ran unsuccessfully against Anitere Flores for the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

In August 2017, Mucarsel-Powell announced she would challenge Republican representative

Carlos Curbelo Carlos Luis Curbelo (born March 1, 1980) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. In 2018, he was narrowly defeated for re-election by Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-P ...

in of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the

2018 elections The following elections occurred in 2018. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. Africa *2018 Djiboutian parliamentary election 23 February 2018 *2018 Sierra Leonean general election 7 and 31 ...

. She defeated Demetries Grimes in the Democratic Party primary election with 63.5% of the vote. In the November 6 general election, Mucarsel-Powell defeated Curbelo with 50.9% of the vote, becoming the first Ecuadorian-born person to be elected to Congress and the first woman to represent Florida's 26th congressional district.

2020

In the prelude to the 2020 elections, Mucarsel-Powell's seat was included as a target of the

National Republican Congressional Committee The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is the United States Republican Party, Republican Hill committee which works to elect Republicans to the United States House of Representatives. The NRCC was formed in 1866, when the Repub ...

. Her Republican opponent, Carlos A. Giménez, was then the mayor of

, and was endorsed by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. Mucarsel-Powell lost to Giménez in an upset, with 48.6% of the vote to Giménez's 51.3%.

Tenure

Donna Shalala and DMP at 2020 State of the Union

Within the first month of her tenure, Mucarsel-Powell introduced a bill to provide the people of

with humanitarian aid amid the ongoing socioeconomic crisis, which had worsened with the presidential crisis beginning in January 2019. She voiced support for ousting president

and recognizing the transitional government led by assembly speaker

. Mucarsel-Powell was among a delegation of House Democrats that met with Guaidó when he visited the U.S. in February 2020. On December 18, 2019, Mucarsel-Powell voted to

impeach Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Euro ...

President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Committee assignments

Source: * Committee on the Judiciary ** Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Animal Protection Caucus * Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues *

Congressional Hispanic Caucus The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an organization of 38 Democratic members of the United States Congress of Hispanic and Latino descent. The Caucus focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States. The CHC was fo ...

* Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus *

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the progressive faction of the Democratic Party. " e Congressional Progressive Caucus, ...

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...

Post-congressional career

In April 2021, Mucarsel-Powell joined Giffords as a senior adviser, intending to lobby the U.S. Senate to pass the Bipartisan Background Checks Act.

2024 U.S. Senate campaign

Mucarsel-Powell announced her campaign for the U.S. Senate in August 2023, challenging incumbent Republican

. She won the Democratic primary with minor opposition on August 20, 2024, becoming the first Latina woman to be nominated for a Senate seat in Florida. Her campaign had raised more than $12 million by the day of the primary. She lost the general election, receiving 42.8% of the vote to Scott's 55.6%.

Personal life

Mucarsel-Powell is of Ecuadorian and Lebanese ancestry and is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. When she was 24 years old, a gunman killed her father outside his home in Ecuador. She and her husband, Robert Powell, have three children.

Electoral history

2016

2018

2020

2024

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mucarselpowell, Debbie 1971 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Florida politicians 21st-century Roman Catholics American politicians of Ecuadorian descent American politicians of Lebanese descent American Roman Catholics American university and college faculty deans American women academics Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Catholic politicians from Florida Claremont Graduate University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Ecuadorian people of Lebanese descent Ecuadorian emigrants to the United States Female members of the United States House of Representatives Florida International University faculty Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress Pitzer College alumni Politicians from Guayaquil Women deans (academic) Women in Florida politics Candidates in the 2024 United States Senate elections 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life and education

Early career

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

2020

Tenure

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Post-congressional career

2024 U.S. Senate campaign

Personal life

Electoral history

2016

2018

2020

2024

See also

References

External links