After immigrating from Mexico and obtaining U.S. citizenship, Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo entered politics, earning a
reputation for being a fervent defender of Hispanic civil rights. In 1919 Larrazolo was elected governor of ______ in 1928 he
became the nation’s ﬁrst Hispanic U.S. Senator.
New Mexico and
New Mexico,
New Mexico, and
New Mexico
Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the coordination of main clauses within a sentence. This choice
correctly uses a comma and the coordinating conjunction "and" to join the ﬁrst main clause ("In 1919 Larrazolo was elected
governor of New Mexico") and the second main clause ("in 1928 he became the nation’s ﬁrst Hispanic US Senator").
Choice A is incorrect because when coordinating two longer main clauses such as these, it’s conventional to use a comma
before the coordinating conjunction. Choice B is incorrect because it results in a comma splice. Without a conjunction
following it, a comma can’t be used in this way to join two main clauses. Choice D is incorrect because it results in a run-on
sentence. The two main clauses are fused without punctuation and/or a conjunction.