Democrats had a big night on Election Day. The bluenami was also filled with tons of nationwide firsts, with many candidates breaking the so-called glass ceiling.
Here are some notable ones:
Congressional Candidates
Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s closely watched Senate race to become the upper chamber’s first Muslim member. El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers for his historic win.
Chris Pappas won an open New Hampshire Senate seat, becoming the first out gay man elected to the upper chamber. Pappas handily defeated former senator John Sununu (R), keeping retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s seat in Democratic hands.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate after securing a Minnesota Senate seat. Flanagan defeated Republican Michele Tafoya, a former journalist and sports broadcaster.
Democrat JD Ford, who unseated Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, will be the first out gay man elected to Congress from the Hoosier State.
Meanwhile, 29-year-old democratic socialist Melat Kiros won the race to represent Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, becoming the first Gen Z woman to serve in Congress. Kiros will take on Capitol Hill at a time when Democrats continue to face calls for generational change.
Also noteworthy, Illinois will be the first state to be represented by two women of color in the upper chamber — Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Sen-elect Juliane Stratton (D-IL), who defeated Republican Don Tracy for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Stratton, who has served as Gov. JB Pritzker’s lieutenant governor since 2019, also becomes just the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S Senate.
Gubernatorial Candidates
Women of color candidates running for various governor seats had huge wins across the country.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson (R) in Georgia, becoming the first Black female governor in U.S. history. The former mayor of Atlanta is also the first Democrat elected governor in the Peach State in more than 25 years.
New Mexico’s Deb Haaland will be the first Native American woman governor. The Democrat defeated Republican Greg Hull for her historic win.
Latinos also had some firsts.
Democrat Xavier Becerra — a former Biden administration official — became California’s first elected Latino governor. He will succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom after defeating Republican Steve Hilton.
Meanwhile Gina Hinojosa came out on top for the Texas governorship, becoming the first Latina governor of Texas. In a win representative of the historic blue wave, Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, a major Trump ally. Hinojosa will be Texas’ first Democratic governor in more than 30 years.
Democrat Amy Acton took down Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, securing herself the distinction of being Ohio’s first female governor and first Jewish governor. Acton will be the first Democrat to serve in the role in two decades.
Similarly, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D- MN) will become the first woman to be governor of Minnesota after defeating Republican Lisa Demuth, speaker of the state House.
Democrat Stacey Plaskett also became the first woman elected to be the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her historic win also makes her the first Black woman elected to be the governor of any U.S. territory.
Democratic candidate David Crowley will be Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Crowley, a Milwaukee County executive, defeated Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany to lead the Badger State.
And Democrat Aaron Ford will be Nevada’s first Black governor after defeating the incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo (R). Ford has been the state’s attorney general since 2019.
A couple of Republicans were also notable as firsts in governor’s races.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) defeated Democrat David Jolly to become the first Black governor of the Sunshine State.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) became the first woman to win a gubernatorial race in Tennessee. Blackburn defeated Democrat Jerri Green and several independent candidates for the role.
“The struggle of today is not altogether for today – it is for a vast future also.” – Abraham Lincoln
Needed a big win and not only got it but damned near swept the board, thank bog!
Gratifying too to see the flips in notoriously deep red states but interesting seeing TN and FL becoming a new reich-wing bulwark, staying true to type in electing two genuinely nasty pieces of revanchist reactionary work.
All the stuff of Stephen Miller’s worst nightmares. Great!
These Governor wins will become big news again during the 2028 Presidential election when the GOP tries to rat-fuck the election in swing states like Wisconsin and Georgia.
In the meantime, in places like Texas who haven’t had a Democrat leader in three decades, they will finally hear something other than the GOP party line of hatred and blaming Dems for all their woes.
Huge night, I’m elated.
As Bill Clinton once said about his cabinet, this is looking more like America