# Teresita Santos

Teresita Apatang Santos (born October 25, 1959) is a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands and current Secretary of the Department of Public Lands. She previously served as a member of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives and as a member of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate.
Santos, a resident of the island of Rota, is a member of the Republican Party, and represented the 1st Senatorial District. She was the Legislative Secretary of the Senate. She chaired the committee on Health and Welfare; she is the vice-chair of the committees on Education and Youth Affairs, Fiscal Affairs, and Judiciary, Government, and Law, and was a member of the committees on Rules and Procedure and Executive Appointments and Government Investigations. She has spoken of the need to invest more money in the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation to improve its hospital services. As of 2017 she was the only woman sitting in the Senate. Santos served in the House of Representatives alongside Felicidad Ogumoro and Janet Maratita; when the latter was sworn in for a new term in 2011 the three became the first three women to serve together in the House in the history of the Northern Mariana Islands. At the time she was an independent. Her cousin is the former director of the Department of Public Safety on Rota, Felix M. Santos, who challenged her for her seat in the House in 2012. In the 2022 general election, Santos ran to be Mayor of Rota. Aubrey Manglona Hocog won the election while Santos finished third of five candidates.

## Electoral history
### 2009

House of Representative - District 7: Rota (1 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Teresita Apatang Santos | 695 | 53.50% |
| | Independent | Ross Hugh Songao Manglona | 604 | 46.50% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,299 | 100.00% |

### 2012

House of Representative - District 7: Rota (1 seat) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Teresita Apatang Santos (incumbent) | 882 | 58.96% |
| | Independent | Felix Mundo Santos | 614 | 41.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,496 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

### 2014

Rota 1st Senatorial District (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Teresita Apatang Santos | 786 | 28.17% |
| | Republican | Steven King Mesngon | 687 | 24.62% |
| | Independent | Paul Atalig Manglona | 633 | 22.69% |
| | Independent | Jovita Maratita Taimanao (incumbent) | 492 | 17.63% |
| | Independent | Tom Glenn A. Quitugua | 192 | 6.88% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,790 | 100.00% |

### 2018

Rota 1st Senatorial District (2 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Teresita Apatang Santos (incumbent) | 628 | 21.55% |
| | Republican | Victor Borja Hocog | 570 | 19.56% |
| | Republican | Felix Mundo Santos | 540 | 18.53% |
| | Independent | Albert Atalig Taitano | 442 | 15.17% |
| | Independent | Joel Gogue Charfauros | 396 | 13.59% |
| | Independent | Jovita Maratita Taimanao | 338 | 11.60% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,914 | 100.00% |

### 2024

Mayor - Rota :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Aubry Manglona Hocog | 505 | 34.95% |
| | Independent | Harry James Atalig Masga | 470 | 32.53% |
| | Independent | Teresita Apatang Santos | 288 | 19.93% |
| | Independent | Magdalena San Nicolas Mesngon | 159 | 11.00% |
| | Independent | Alfredo Taisacan Taimanao | 23 | 1.59% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 1,445 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |