Diana Gonzales Worthen is a Democratic representative for Arkansas House District 9 , Arkansas's first majority-Latino district. She made history as the first Latina elected to the Arkansas Legislature in 2024, flipping the seat from Republican control with 54.9% of the vote after a narrow 2022 loss by 109 votes. A lifelong educator and advocate for immigrant communities, she focuses on education, healthcare access, and support for working families, including priorities like increasing pay for school staff, affordable childcare, and mental health training for school resource officers. In her first session, she passed three bills into law on maternity leave, lactation coverage, and blood type IDs. She serves on the House Education Committee and the House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee. Gonzales Worthen is running for re-election in 2026 and has previously run for office in 2006 and 2012.

Education and Political Experience

Education

• Associate's Degree, Blinn Junior College
• Bachelor's in Biology, University of Houston
• Master's in Science Education, University of Texas at Dallas
• Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas
• Secondary Principal Certification and ESL Endorsement

Political Experience

• Elected to Arkansas House of Representatives, District 9 ; first term in 95th General Assembly
• Previous campaigns: Ran for office in 2006 and lost 2012 State Senate race
• Leadership roles: Founding President, Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas; President, Arkansas-East Bolivia Partners of the Americas; President, Washington County Democratic Women; Chair, Hispanic Caucus of the Democratic Party of Arkansas
• Civic involvement: Co-founder, OneCommunity ; boards including Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation; over 35 years as educator, Principal Investigator, and Director of Project ELEVATE