Mark Takano

Votes Cast

50

Yea Rate

34.0%

Bills Sponsored

10

Missed Votes

4.0%

Mark Takano is a Democratic U.S. Representative from California's 39th District and ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, the first openly gay person of color elected to Congress.

Mark Allan Takano is the U.S. Representative for California's 39th Congressional District, a Democrat first elected in 2012 and currently serving his seventh term in the 119th Congress representing a Riverside County district centered on the city of Riverside and Moreno Valley. A Japanese American whose family was interned during World War II, Takano is a graduate of Harvard and holds a master's degree from the University of California, Riverside. He taught British literature in Rialto public schools for more than twenty years and served on the Riverside Community College District Board of Trustees. The first openly gay person of color in Congress, he serves as ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and is chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, co-chairing the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. In January 2026, he attended the retirement ceremony of transgender service members affected by an executive order, apologizing to them for their forced retirement. His priorities include veterans' services, higher education, and LGBTQ equality.