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The Democratic Party emerged victorious in the U.S. midterm elections and will hold a majority in both chambers of the U.S. Congress starting in January. The vote was marked by several historic outcomes, including the election of Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black female governor of Georgia, and Chris Pappas as the first openly gay senator.
According to preliminary results from yesterday’s elections, Keisha Lance Bottoms is set to become the first Black governor of Georgia, the first woman to serve as governor of that state, and the first Black female governor in the history of the United States, CNN reported. Bottoms, who served as Mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, was among the women considered by former U.S. President Joe Biden as a potential running mate for the 2020 election. She defeated Rick Jackson, who was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Projections from the U.S. election tracking outlet “Decision Desk” indicate that Chris Pappas is set to become the first openly gay senator in U.S. history, following his victory in the New Hampshire Senate race—a win that allows the Democrats to retain this key seat. Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, has also declared victory; should this be confirmed by official results, he would become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.
Historic results were also achieved in other states:
– Republican Byron Donalds will become the first Black governor of Florida, bringing the total number of sitting Black governors in the U.S. to three (alongside Wes Moore in Maryland and Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia).
– Gina Hinojosa will become the first Latina governor of Texas since 1990 and the third woman to hold the office.
– Democrat Amy Acton will become the first female governor of Ohio, and the first candidate from her party to win that election since 2006.
– Democrat Xavier Becerra will become the first elected Latino governor of California, succeeding Gavin Newsom.
The composition of the legislative branch also features precedents: Annie Andrews is the first elected female senator from South Carolina (following her victory over Darlene Graham, who had assumed the office after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, in July); Melat Kiros (29) from Colorado is the first Black woman from that state to serve in Congress and a representative of Generation Z; Adam Hamawi is the first Muslim member of Congress from New Jersey; Claire Valdez is the first Indigenous congresswoman from New York; and Jeremy Moss is the first openly gay member of Congress from Michigan.
Additionally, Democrat Adam Hamilton won a Senate seat for his party in Kansas—the first time since 1932—while James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since 1988; meanwhile, in Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Republican Susan Collins, ending her nearly 30-year tenure.