From collection Candidates
In 1918 Adelina (Nina) Otero Warren, a member of New Mexico's landed Hispanic elite and later a successful businesswoman, won election as superintendent of schools for Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was re-elected until 1929. Otero-Warren lobbied for woman suffrage, supporting the Congressional Union, and became an active member of the Republican party. Known for her work in the fields of education, health, and culture, in 1922 she won the Republican primary as a candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives. Her platform emphasized the need to return New Mexico's communal land grants to their Hispanic owners, federal support for public schools, and protective tariffs. She was a gifted campaigner who emphasized her heritage. Historian Vicki Ruiz writes that she was the first New Mexico woman and the first Latina to run for national office. She lost the election after a relative, former New Mexico territorial governor Miguel Otero, revealed that she was a divorcee, not a widow. Otero-Warren never again ran for national public office but remained an active public servant, chairing the state board of health, serving as an inspector of Indian schools in Santa Fe county and, later, state director in New Mexico of the federal Civilian Conservation Corps, appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
