TW A THILE the election of ethnic and racial minorities to positions in city government has received considerable attention, there have been few analyses of the election of Hispanics (Taebel 1978; Browning, Marshall, and Tabb 1984; Henry and Munoz 1985; de la Garza 1974, 1977). The purpose of this article is to examine the election of Federico Pefia, a Mexican-American, as mayor of Denver. This is important for several reasons. Available evidence indicates that the political orientation and achievements of Hispanics have been different from those of other groups, including blacks (Browning, Marshall, and Tabb 1984; Lovrich and Marenin 1976). Secondly, the Denver mayor holds a visible and powerful position. Denver has a strong mayor system. The formal powers of the Denver mayor appear stronger than those in most other cities, such as San Antonio, where Hispanic mayors have been elected and are probably greater than in most cities where minority mayors have been elected. Thus, the Denver mayor is in a favorable position to influence city policy. Finally, Denver has a relatively small Hispanic population (18-20 percent) and its overall minority population (30-35 percent Hispanic and black) is somewhat smaller than those of most other large cities with minority mayors. How a Hispanic was elected to such a powerful position in a city with such a small minority population warrants attention. The analysis seeks to address this question as follows. First, a discussion of relevant scholarly literature is presented to provide a theoretical grounding for the subsequent analysis. The Pefia campaign strategy is then discussed, followed by a consideration of the major themes of the Pefia campaign and a general description of the campaign. This portion of the discussion draws upon a personal interview with one of the major Pefia campaign strategists, Pefia campaign materials, and a close reading of the Denver newspaper with the largest circulation, the Denver Post, between January and July, 1983. An analysis draws upon precinct-level voting data and demographic and related data purchased from a public agency and a private vendor. Finally, the analysis will provide a baseline from which to compare other elections involving