American Samoa Delegate to Congress

Current Representative

What the Delegate Can and Cannot Do

Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen holds nearly every legislative power a House member has. The office introduces bills and amendments, serves on standing committees, votes in those committees, questions witnesses at hearings, and speaks and manages debate on the House floor. Rule III of the House rules gives delegates and the Resident Commissioner the same powers and privileges as members inside the Committee of the Whole and on the committees where they serve.

The limit is final passage. Radewagen cannot vote when the full House decides whether a bill becomes law, and cannot vote for Speaker. The Committee of the Whole vote has been turned on and off as House majorities changed, and it was restored at the start of the 116th Congress in 2019. It carries a safeguard: if delegate votes decide a recorded vote in the Committee of the Whole, the committee rises and the House votes again without them.

For American Samoa the committee seats line up with the territory’s main federal concerns: the Natural Resources panel handles insular affairs, and Veterans’ Affairs matters in a territory whose residents enlist in the U.S. military at among the highest rates in the country.

Committee Assignments

In the 119th Congress Radewagen serves on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, on its Subcommittee on Africa and its Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. She serves on the Committee on Natural Resources, on the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs and the Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries. She also serves on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, on the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

How Long American Samoa Has Sent a Delegate

Congress authorized the seat with Public Law 95-556, signed on October 31, 1978. The first delegate took office in January 1981, which makes this the newest of the older territorial seats. Fofo Iosefa Fiti Sunia, a Democrat, served first, holding the seat until 1989. Radewagen was first elected in 2014 and took office on January 3, 2015. She was the first woman to hold the seat.

Population and Representation

The 2020 Census counted 49,710 people in American Samoa. The Census Bureau does not run the American Community Survey in the island areas, so this is the most recent official federal count rather than a current-year estimate. American Samoa differs from the other territories in one significant way: people born there are U.S. nationals rather than U.S. citizens by birth, so they must go through naturalization to vote in state and federal elections after moving to a state.

How the Delegate Is Elected

American Samoa elects its delegate territory-wide to a two year term beginning January 3. The seat is decided by a plurality. Federal law originally required a majority with a runoff, and Public Law 108-376 replaced that with a plurality standard effective January 1, 2006. A majority requirement would return only if the territorial legislature established primary elections for the seat. The general election is on November 3, 2026. Candidate filing has closed, and the Commissioner of Elections has certified 6 candidates: Aumua Amata, Fualaau Rosie Tago Lancaster, Meleagi Suitonu Chapman, Samana Semo Veavea, Sandra King Young and Tuifagaloa Dr. Afu Lefaoseu.

What is on the ballot nationally on November 3, 2026

Contact Your Representative

Sources

Officeholder, committee assignments, and office addresses come from the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. The powers and limits of the office come from the Rules of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress, Rule III. The rules for electing the delegate come from title 48, sections 1731 through 1735 of the U.S. Code, as amended by Public Law 108-376. The seat was authorized by Public Law 95-556 of 1978. Population comes from the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 Island Areas Censuses. Filing and election dates come from the American Samoa Election Office. Checked August 12, 2026.