An annual survey on diversity among Senate Democratic offices found that Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., have the least diverse staffs on their side of Capitol Hill.
Just 12% of Manchin’s staff identify as non-Caucasian, the least of any Senate office, followed closely by Tester’s staff at 13% and Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., each with 15%.
Tester does not employ anyone who identifies as Latino in his Senate office, according to the poll, while 2% of Manchin’s staff are Latino. Manchin’s office was the only one listed without any staffers who identify as LGBTQ.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Tester and Manchin’s offices for comment. Both moderate Democrats are up for re-election in 2024, both in states won by Donald Trump in the previous presidential race.
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, boasts the most diverse Senate staff as 71% identify as non-Caucasian. Sixty-eight percent of her fellow Hawaii Democrat Sen. Brian Schatz’s staffers said the same, followed by 67% of Sen. Cory Booker’s, D-N.J.
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The most diverse committee staffs were Indian Affairs and Small Business, while the least was Environment and Public Works.
The poll is part of Senate Democrats’ Diversity Initiative, which was created in 2007 by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
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The initiative’s website touts current Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as “championing a definition of diversity and inclusion that is emblematic of our party and country; one that embraces diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds and celebrates differences in gender, sexual-orientation, ability, and the military service of our veterans.”
In his office, 49% of staffers identify as non-Caucasian and 16% identify as LGBTQ. Black and Latino staffers each make up 15% of his staff, according to the poll.
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