‘I’ve always said I’m not a show horse. I’m a workhorse, and I’m ready to get to work.’ – Gabby Salinas, House Representative for District 96 in Tennessee. Credit: Facebook
In the state that saved her life, Gabby Salinas not only has become the first Latina to win in Shelby County, but also the first openly LGBTQ+ woman ever to be elected to Tennessee’s legislature.
Salinas, a resident of the state and an immigrant from Bolivia, won big on Election Day 2024. She captured her primary in the Democratic Party’s District 96 by 43 percent with Telisa Franklin polling close behind at 41 percent by the time voting closed on August 1, Salinas ran unopposed by Republicans and Independents, allowing her to take the seat in Tennessee’s House of Representatives.
“It has not been an easy road, but my entire life has not been easy,” Salinas stated back in August. “So I’m up for the fight, up for the challenge of making Tennessee better. I’m really excited of the work that’s ahead. I’ve always said I’m not a show horse. I’m a workhorse, and I’m ready to get to work.”
Because this is the third election that Salinas had taken part in, she felt the heat was on to win this time around. Back in 2018, Salinas first ran for Tennessee’s State Senate District 31, losing the general election to Republican Brian Kelsey by 1,400 votes. In 2020 she ran again, her first time for a house seat, but for District 97 instead. She lost that election by less than 500 votes, to Republican John Gillespie.
Salinas first entered the state od Tennessee in 1996 as a seven-year-old in need of treatment for an aggressive cancer that left her sick, disabled and incapable of walking.
Facilities in New York made her treatment impossible for her father Omar to afford, requiring a $250,000 advance payment before they would even begin the process. Fortunately, St. Jude Hospital in Memphis was able to take them in, diagnosing Salinas’ cancer as Ewing Sarcoma, and immediately getting to work with her treatment. Per St. Jude’s policy, all patients at the hospital receive treatment, regardless of their financial situation.
Inspired by her doctors and the team that helped her beat the cancer scare (she would contract different forms two more times), Salinas went on to become a biochemist, earning a degree in Biochemistry from Christian Brothers University and a Masters in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Kentucky.
As a result of the challenges she and her family faced with the healthcare system, Salinas made it a major part of her platform for District 96. “How can you go to work if you’re not healthy? How can you go to school,” Salinas expressed. “That was … a big hurdle for me.”
Among the other policies that Salinas won on, investing more in education was a major one, pointing out that “funding equity” across school districts and providing high quality education will in part help tackle the underlying causes of crime and poverty. Salinas also supports raising the minimum wage and the support of unions, along with wanting to tackle gun violence in the state.