Methodology

The House and Senate demographic data were collected from CivilServiceUSA

Gender: Gender was divided into cis male, cis female, and trans + non binary in order to highlight the lack of congressional representation of those under the transgender identity. Congresspeople are considered Trans + non binary if their gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth (definition retrieved from GLAAD.). Source

Sexual Orientation: Congresspeople are considered LGB if they are lesbian, gay, or bisexual and have stated so publicly. Source

Ethnicity: Ethnicity groups were defined by the United States Census Bureau's racial data guidelines are White, Black, Asian, American Indian, Pacific Islanders, and two or more races. The US Census Bureau does not include Hispanic Americans or Middle Eastern Americans as racial subgroups, so national data for these two groups were retrieved from other sources. Because of the inclusion and exclusion of certain groups, the total percentages for racial breakdown might not equal 100%. Congresspeople are considered multiracial if they identify with two or more races. Definition retrieved from the 2010 Census Briefs. All race categories ("white", "black", etc.) should be interpreted as non-hispanic.

Religion: The Church of Latter-Day Saints has affirmed themselves to be under the umbrella of Christianity; they were intentioanally excluded from the group to show prominence of representation.

Source: Data collected for confirmed candidates used the AP Elections API. Demographic data was confirmed via US Census, 2010; Pew Research; Votesmart.org; Ballotpedia.org; CivilServiceUSA; UCLA Williams Institute; American Factfinder; and campaign websites

Based on an interactive the Guardian ran in 2014