Going into Election Day, this midterm featured one of the most diverse slates of both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent years. Now it is shaping up to be a wave of historic leadership firsts across the country.Democrat Deb (L) Haaland became the first Native American female governor in US history.
Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas (R) became the country’s first openly gay male senator. (AP/Bloomberg)Voters on Tuesday night elected the first Black female governor, the first Native American female governor, the first Native woman senator and the first openly gay male US senator.
Meanwhile, the first Muslim US senator was still within the realm of possibility. Most are Democrats, but the GOP has also broken some new ground.
Follow 2026 US midterm election results LIVE updates here.While some of these candidates have avoided focusing on the inherent historic value of their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, some voters' rights advocates are celebrating how the electorate has expanded.“These firsts show how our country is changing,” Alexis Anderson-Reed, president and CEO of State Voices, a network of advocates for civic engagement and equity in democracy, said via e-mail.“For years, people of color and LGBTQ communities have organized, knocked on doors, talked to voters, held conversations, and done the hard work of saving our democracy," Anderson-Reed said. "These wins are because of them.”Also Read: Trump says Iran war played a role in US midterms lossesHere are some of the races where history was and could be made.First Native American female governorDemocrat Deb Haaland reveled in her history-making moment of becoming the first Native American female governor in US history. Haaland was declared the winner over Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor, to lead New Mexico.The Laguna Pueblo citizen noted that Native Americans are still here despite past efforts by the federal government to strip them of their languages and culture.“Tonight, in our nation's 250th year, I stand before you as the first Native American woman elected governor in US history,” Haaland told ecstatic supporters at a victory celebration.In 2018, Haaland was one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress.
Then she became the first Native American Cabinet secretary, running President Joe Biden’s Department of the Interior. Charles Curtis, from the Kaw Nation, was the first Native Cabinet member as President Herbert Hoover’s vice president.Also Read: Adam Hamilton beats Trump-backed Roger Marshall as Democrats win Kansas Senate seat after 94 yearsOklahoma was the only state to elect a tribal citizen for governor — Democrat Johnston Murray in the 1950s and current Republican Gov.
Kevin Stitt."I want every child watching to know that your dreams matter and that New Mexico is a place where you can build the life you want,” Haaland said, adding that she is living proof.First Native woman senatorsMinnesota Lt. Gov.
Peggy Flanagan has become the first Native American female US senator, helping Democrats win back the Senate. A citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan defeated Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter.Tafoya would have been the first Republican of Latina heritage to sit in the US Senate.Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik and a Democrat, could also become the first Alaska Native US senator.
Voters in her race to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan are still being tabulated.Peltola was considered a trailblazer in 2022 when she became the first Alaska Native elected to the US House of Representatives.First Black female governorDemocrat Keisha Lance Bottoms was declared the winner Tuesday night in the Georgia governor's race, ending 250 years of US history without a Black woman serving as a state's governor.
The former Atlanta mayor was running against Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman.“Tonight should remind us all that no matter what community we come from, Georgia is not defined by one moment in time or by one person,” Bottoms told euphoric supporters. “It's been defined by all of us, and I will be a governor for everyone in this state."She will also be Georgia’s first governor of color. All 83 of Georgia’s previous governors have been white men.Lisa Demuth, the former Minnesota House speaker, however, lost an opportunity to be the first Black female governor.
She was overtaken by longtime Minnesota US Sen. Amy Klobuchar.Stacey Abrams is the only Black woman to come close to winning a governor's race when she got the Georgia Democratic Party's nomination in 2018 and 2022.First Muslim US senatorAbdul El-Sayed could be the first Muslim American to serve in the US Senate.The progressive Michigan Democrat needs to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in what has been a very tight and contentious race.El-Sayed has had to contend with Republicans all the way up to Trump implying or overtly stating that the Michigan-born epidemiologist is not American and supports terrorism.
Trump has called him “dangerously radical," “too extreme” and referred to him as “Mohammed." El-Sayed and his supporters have denounced the attacks as Islamophobic or racist affronts to religious freedom.First openly gay male US senatorDemocratic Rep. Chris Pappas has won his US Senate race in New Hampshire and becomes the country’s first openly gay male senator.
He defeated former Republican US Sen. John E.
Sununu, who previously served in both chambers of Congress.This new benchmark is not something Pappas has dwelled on while campaigning, saying “I’m not running to make history.” But he also applauded the fact that his sexual orientation was not a huge source of discussion among potential voters.First Black governorsThe US could go from having only three elected Black governors in its 250-year history to gaining seven more overnight.On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the third one in the US and the only current Black governor, won reelection, while Republican Byron Donalds was elected Florida's first Black governor.
With Bottoms' victory in Georgia, two Deep South states will be governed by a Black leader for the first time. Besides Minnesota, the trio could have new peers in Wisconsin, Nevada, South Carolina and Michigan.Also Read: Democrat David Crowley becomes Wisconsin's first black governor, trouncing Trump loyalist Tom TiffanyMoore, chair of the National Governors Association, has called the presence of so many Black gubernatorial contenders “a unique moment.” It's not “an applause line” but a challenge to make diverse gubernatorial nominees more common, he said.Record year of women running for governor and CongressThis midterm has been a record-breaker for women vying for state and federal offices.
Democrats increased their 2022 number of women candidates to 19 running for governor, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The Republican Party has seven women setting their sights on governor.Like Minnesota, Tennessee will elect its first female governor.
The main candidates are Republican US Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democrat Jerri Green, a Memphis city councilwoman.The election of the first Democratic Asian American woman as governor could happen in Vermont with Amanda Janoo, who is half Malaysian.
In Oklahoma, Democrat Cyndi Munson, a former state lawmaker of Korean descent, lost her race Tuesday for governor. Former Republican Gov.
Nikki Haley of South Carolina, who is of Indian heritage, was the first Asian American female governor.Nearly 300 women, including incumbents, are running for the US Senate and House, as documented by Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics.Among them is Democrat Juliana Stratton in Illinois, who defeated Republican Don Tracy on Tuesday. Stratton, the current lieutenant governor, will succeed retiring Democratic Sen.
Dick Durbin. With fellow Democrat Sen.
Tammy Duckworth, who is of Thai heritage, the pair will make Illinois the first state to be represented by two female senators of color. Stratton's win also means there will be three Black women serving in the Senate.