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20 Big Firsts and Historic Wins from the 2018 Midterm Elections

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

Although big-time races in Texas and Florida were disappointments for Democratic voters, there were still a number of historic victories from yesterday's midterm elections. For starters, a record number of women were elected into the House of Representatives. There are 98 women projected to win house races, according to CNN, and there are still two more undecided races where two women are running against each other. That means that next year, over 100 women will be serving in Congress, deeply overshadowing the previous record of 85.

On top of that, this year's elections saw big wins for black women, members of the LGBTQ community, Muslim women, Latinx women, and Native American women. Below, see the historic wins from the 2018 midterms.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) became the youngest woman elected to Congress.

In one of the earlier victories of the night, 29-year-old Ocasio-Cortez was elected to represent New York's 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the The Bronx and Queens. The progressive candidate will also be the youngest member of Congress at this time, NBC reports. "We made history tonight," she said in her victory speech.

Abby Finkenauer, who is also 29 years old, was elected to represent Iowa's 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives, according to KWWL. The Democratic rep is less than a year older than Ocasio-Cortez, and will be turning 30 in December.


Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) became the first Muslim women elected to Congress.

Tlaib, a Democrat, will represent Michigan in Congress, taking a seat formerly occupied by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, according to CNN. Omar, a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's nominee, will represent Minnesota. She'll also be the first Somali-American member of Congress; she first came to the U.S. over 20 years ago as a refugee. She'll take a position formerly held by Rep. Keith Ellison, who is also Muslim.

Both candidates had subtle ties to New York's Ocasio-Cortez. Tlaib was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, of which Ocasio-Cortez is a member, and Omar was also backed by the Bronx-born congresswoman during her race, per CNN. Tlaib actually campaigned with Omar ahead of the Minnesota primary this year.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Paul Sancya/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Photo credit: Paul Sancya/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) became the first black congresswoman for Massachusetts.

Pressley, a Democrat, will officially represent the 7th Congressional District in Massachusetts. She ran unopposed in the midterms (her district is heavily Democratic), following her shocking victory in the primaries, when she defeated 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano, The Boston Globe reports.

Photo credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO - Getty Images
Photo credit: JOSEPH PREZIOSO - Getty Images

Juliana Stratton became the first black woman to be elected Illinois' Lieutenant Governor.

Democrat J.B. Pritzker, who was elected governor of Illinois, will name Stratton as his second-in-command, making her the first black lieutenant governor in the state's history. A strong advocate for prison reform, Stratton will spearhead a new Office of Criminal Justice Reform and Economic Opportunity, according to The Chicago Reporter.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Jared Polis of Colorado became the country's first openly-gay male governor elected.

Polis, a progressive and former five-term member of Congress, defeated his Republican rival Walter Stapleton by six points, TIME reports. His win is a big one for Colorado, which was infamously nicknamed a "hate state" after passing a 1992 law that prevented protections for the LGBTQ community.

Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon, was the first LGBTQ person elected governor in the country in 2016. She won for re-election last night. According to Vox, former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, came out as gay in office in 2004.

Photo credit: JASON CONNOLLY - Getty Images
Photo credit: JASON CONNOLLY - Getty Images

Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Debra Haaland (D-NM) became the first Native American women elected to Congress. Davids is also the first openly-gay representative of Kansas.

Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, will replace Republican representative Kevin Yoder, who was up for re-election. The former MMA fighter will also be the first openly-gay Native American woman in Congress.

Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, was elected to represent New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. She follows Democratic representative Michelle Lujan Grisham, who gave up the position to run for governor, according to CNN.

Photo credit: Whitney Curtis - Getty Images
Photo credit: Whitney Curtis - Getty Images
Photo credit: MARK RALSTON - Getty Images
Photo credit: MARK RALSTON - Getty Images

Letitia James became the first black attorney general of New York.

James is making history in several ways: she's the first woman elected attorney general of New York, the first black woman to hold state-wide office, and the first black person to serve as attorney general, the New York Times reports.

She defeated Republican nominee Keith H. Wofford for the role, which was previously held by Eric T. Schneiderman, who resigned in May. James has "dozens of cases" against President Trump to look forward to, including an investigation into his charity and lawsuits to stop immigrant families from being separated at the border, according to NYT.

Photo credit: Pacific Press - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pacific Press - Getty Images

Jahana Hayes became the first black congresswoman representing Connecticut.

Before being elected as the the first black woman representing Connecticut in Congress, Hayes was an acclaimed history teacher at Kennedy High School in Waterbury, CT and was even named National Teacher of the Year in 2016 by President Obama, according to the Hartford Courant. The first-time candidate beat Republican Manny Santos for the historic win.

Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla - Getty Images
Photo credit: Chip Somodevilla - Getty Images

Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar became the first Latinx women elected into Congress from Texas.

Democrats Garcia and Escobar will be the first Latinx women serving for Texas, a state whose population is 40 percent Latinxs, in the House of Representatives, NBC reports. Escobar, a former judge, is slated to take Beto O'Rourke's place representing Texas’ 16th congressional district. Meanwhile, Garcia, a former Houston city controller, will rep Texas’ 29th congressional district.

Photo credit: The Washington Post - Getty Images
Photo credit: The Washington Post - Getty Images
Photo credit: Omar Vega - Getty Images
Photo credit: Omar Vega - Getty Images

Lauren Underwood (D-IL) became the first black woman to win her Illinois district.

Underwood is a registered nurse and former senior advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services under the Obama administration, ELLE.com reports. The first-time candidate is now the first black woman to win in Illinois' 14th Congressional district, defeating Republican candidate Randy Hultgren for the slot.


Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will be Tennessee's first woman senator.

Blackburn, who touts herself as a "hardcore, card-carrying conservative," defeated Democratic contender, former governor Phil Bredesen, to become the first woman elected senator in her Republican state.

Photo credit: Alex Wong - Getty Images
Photo credit: Alex Wong - Getty Images

Arizona will elect a woman senator for the first time ever.

The race is still too close to call as of Wednesday morning, but whoever wins, either Republican Martha McSally or Democrat Kyrsten Sinema will become the first woman elected senator in Arizona's history.

Photo credit: Bill Clark - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bill Clark - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bill Clark - Getty Images
Photo credit: Bill Clark - Getty Images

Chris Pappas became New Hampshire’s first openly-gay member elected to Congress.

Pappas, a Democrat, defeated Republican Eddie Edwards in the 1st Congressional District to make history. He is a former state lawmaker on the Executive Council, where he approves state contracts and nominations, WBUR reports.


Kalan Haywood is likely the youngest lawmaker in the country.

The 19-year-old from Wisconsin was victorious in the state primary in August and ran uncontested to represent Milwaukee's 16th District, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He’s the youngest state legislator in Wisconsin, and possibly the U.S. altogether.


Angie Craig became the first LGBTQ mom elected to Congress.

Craig, a Democrat, won in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District, unseating Republican Rep. Jason Lewis, who came under fire for controversial sexist and racist comments, according to Huffington Post.

Photo credit: Tom Williams - Getty Images
Photo credit: Tom Williams - Getty Images

Michelle Lujan Grisham became the first Latinx woman Democratic governor.

Lujan Grisham was elected governor of New Mexico last night. She succeeds Governor Susana Martinez, a Republican, who became the first Latinx woman governor elected in the U.S., Vox reports. She’s currently a member of the House of Representatives, head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and is one of Trump’s most vocal critics on immigration, per Vox.

Photo credit: Tom Williams - Getty Images
Photo credit: Tom Williams - Getty Images

All 19 black women running for judge in a local Texas race won.

On the local level, 19 black women running for judicial seats in Harris County, Houston (the third largest county in the country) won their races, marking the biggest win for black women in the county’s history, Cosmopolitan.com reports.

This post will be updated with more historic results.


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