Colorado State Rep. Crisanta Duran at DNC: “We are a country where everything is possible”

State Rep. Crisanta Duran, majority leader in Colorado’s House of Representatives and the first Latina to hold that position, was described as a rising star.

Erica Meltzer

Jul 28 2016 · 4:18 p.m.

Screen Shot 2016-07-28 at 3.50.14 PM — State Rep. Crisanta Duran at the DNC.

State Rep. Crisanta Duran, majority leader in Colorado’s House of Representatives and the first Latina to hold that position, was described as a rising star to watch.

In her address to the Democratic National Convention, she followed the template laid out by dozens of speakers. Her family faced challenges and overcame them. Hillary Clinton supports the types of policies that will help others like Duran succeed.

Describing herself a sixth generation Coloradan, Duran also reminded people that many Latinos have deep American roots.

Duran was able to “break glass ceilings” despite being a “shy little girl from Northglenn and Arvada” with a family that worked hard but still needed food stamps at one point.

“Growing up, my family wasn’t rich,” she said. “In fact, my parents relied on food stamps for a time to get by. But in America, we don’t define our value by our net worth.

“My parents gave me the name Crisanta, believing that in an inclusive America, it would not be a wall to my success. They encouraged me to work hard and get an education, believing that in a fair America, it would carry me anywhere I wanted to go. And you know what? They were right.”

Clinton, Duran said, gets it.

“It’s why she’s spent a lifetime fighting for every child, for a strong social safety net so no one falls through the cracks, for world-class public schools so education can be a great equalizer, for a government that respects and protects the rights of all people so what we look like and who we love has no bearing on our opportunity,” she said. “We are a country where everything is possible when everyone is included, and I am proof of that.”

State Rep. Crisanta Duran at the DNC.