Here are some of the history-making wins from the midterms.
First Muslim women elected to to Congress: Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar Tlaib ran unopposed in Michigan, having previously served in the Michigan House of Representatives. BuzzFeed News reported she is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. She will represent Michigan’s 13th Congressional District.
Omar, a Somali-American Democrat, was elected to represent Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District. The win means she makes national history as the first Somali-American member of Congress.
Ilhan Omar speaks at an election night results party on November 6, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Omar is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress and the first Somali-American member of Congress. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
First Native American congresswomen: Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids
Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe. The Democrat will represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. Davids, also a Democrat, is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, USA Today reported. She will represent Kansas’s 3rd Congressional District.
First openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress in Kansas: Sharice Davids
In addition to making history as one of the first Native American congresswomen, The Kansas City Star reported Davids is also the first openly LGBTQ person to represent Kansas in Congress.
First openly gay governor: Jared Polis
Polis, a Democrat, won the gubernatorial race in Colorado, defeating Republican State Treasurer Walker Stapleton.
What You Need to Know: Jared Polis
First Democratic Latina governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham
In making national history, Grisham, a Democrat, will replace the first-ever Latina governor of New Mexico, Republican Susana Martinez.
First woman elected Guam governor: Lou Leon Guerrero Leon Guerrero, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio to be the U.S. territory’s first female governor. The island also elected its first openly gay lieutenant governor, Joshua Tenorio, according to the Democratic Party of Guam.
First black woman elected to Congress in Massachusetts: Ayanna Pressley Pressley is set to represent Massachusetts’ 7th Congressional District. She defeated incumbent Mike Capuano in the primaries and ran unopposed in the midterms.
Youngest woman elected to Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, turned 29 in October, making her the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she beat Anthony Pappas and was elected to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District.
First Latinas elected to Congress in Texas: Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar
The Texas Tribune reported that Escobar, a former El Paso County judge, will represent Texas’s 16th Congressional District. State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat, will represent the state’s 29th District.
First women elected to Congress in Iowa: Abby Finkenauer and Cindy Axne
Finkenauer will represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District after beating Republican Rod Blum. Axne defeated Republican incumbent David Young to represent the state’s 3rd congressional district.
For additional information head to: www.ajc.com
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