Firsts for women and minorities in US midterm elections

There have been a number of firsts in United States midterm elections, with candidates from underrepresented groups elected to office.

In New Mexico, Democrat Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman elected governor of a US state. A member of Laguna Pueblo, Haaland served as interior secretary under President Joe Biden.

In New Hampshire, voters elected Chris Pappas to the US Senate, the upper chamber of Congress, making him the first openly gay senator in the country’s history.

In the swing state of Michigan, progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won a hotly contested US Senate race, making him the first Muslim voted into the chamber.

Democrat Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, became the first Native American woman elected to the US Senate in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, further north in Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik, would become the first Alaska Native US senator if she wins. The race remains too close to call.

In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa was elected governor, becoming the first Hispanic woman to hold the office. In California, Democrat Xavier Becerra was elected as the state’s first Latino governor.

Georgia elected Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, as governor, making her the first Black woman to serve as governor anywhere in the US.

Amy Acton, a Democrat, won office, becoming Ohio’s first female governor.

Byron Donalds won Florida’s gubernatorial race to become the first Black Republican governor in the US.

Three Black women will serve for the first time in the US Senate next term, all of them Democrats: Juliana Stratton from Illinois, Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware, and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland.

With Democrats winning control of the House, their leader in the chamber, New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, is in line to become the first Black speaker if elected by members of the new House.