Democrats won back the House and the Senate on Tuesday, the first midterm since 2006 where the party out of power took both chambers. The wave carried a stack of historic firsts with it.
Keisha Lance Bottoms: first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history (Georgia).
Byron Donalds: Florida’s first Black governor, and the first Black Republican governor in U.S. history.
Gina Hinojosa: Texas’ first Latina governor, beating Greg Abbott.
Deb Haaland: first Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history (New Mexico).
David Crowley: Wisconsin’s first Black governor.
Amy Klobuchar: Minnesota’s first woman elected governor.
Peggy Flanagan: first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate (Minnesota).
Chris Pappas: first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate (New Hampshire).
Melat Kiros: first Black woman elected to Congress from Colorado.
Adam Hamawy: New Jersey’s first Muslim member of Congress.
Claire Valdez: first Native American woman elected to Congress from New York.
Marsha Blackburn: Tennessee’s first woman governor.
Also last night
- James Talarico beat Ken Paxton to flip a Texas U.S. Senate seat.
- Susan Collins lost her Maine Senate seat to Troy Jackson after five terms.
- Kansas elected a Democratic senator, Adam Hamilton, for the first time since 1932.
- Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black Speaker of the House.