US Midterms Bring Surge of Historic Firsts for Women and Members of Minority Groups
Democrats’ gains produced the first Black and Native American women governors, the first Muslim senator and the first openly gay male senator, officials said.
- On Tuesday, voters elected a historic wave of candidates, shifting control of Congress to Democrats. The victories included the first Native American female governor, Democrat Deb Haaland, and the first Black female governor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.
- This midterm cycle broke records for female representation, with nearly 300 women running for federal offices according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, while both parties fielded record numbers of female gubernatorial candidates.
- In New Mexico, Haaland celebrated becoming the first Native American female governor, while Bottoms' Georgia victory ended 250 years of US history without a Black woman leading that state. Both candidates defeated Republican opponents.
- Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim American senator, while Democratic Representative Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's Senate race as the first openly gay male senator. Latino Democrats also secured historic gubernatorial victories in Texas and California.
- "These firsts show how our country is changing," Alexis Anderson-Reed, president and CEO of State Voices, said. Anderson-Reed credited people of color and LGBTQ+ communities' years of civic engagement for the historic results.
22 Articles
22 Articles
The first black governor, an indigenous senator and democratic victories in republican strongholds such as Kansas or Texas: The Democrats succeeded in the Midterms in many places Historical - a selection.
History was made in many ways during the US midterm elections.
US midterms bring surge of historic firsts for women and members of minority groups
The 2026 midterm elections will go down in history for the Democrats' dramatic wresting of control of both houses of Congress, but they also brought a surge of historic firsts for women, LGBT, Black, and Native American candidates, particularly in gubernatorial races across the US, and ushered in the first Muslim US senator.
On Tuesday, November 3, the US Democrats achieved a major performance by regaining control of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the mid-term elections. A vote in the form of a crackling reprimand to Donald Trump. New politicians will therefore take part in the country's future. In some cases, they are even historical first times, especially for several black women, Amerindian women or openly LGBTQ+ figures.
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