According to The Hill, a record number of Black candidates ran up and down the ballot and across party lines, strides in LGBTQ representation were made and gender barriers were broken.
Among 10 candidates who broke “glass ceilings” in their races this year is Army veteran and best-selling author Wes Moore (D) who was elected Maryland’s first Black governor and became only the third Black person to be elected governor of a state. Moore rose to the top of his party’s primary in July, when he beat out 10 other candidates. His campaign had the support of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, and the Democratic Governors Association had invested heavily in his campaign.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) broke two barriers Tuesday night. She was elected as the first female governor of Massachusetts and the country´s first openly lesbian governor.
Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) was elected Arkansas governor, becoming the first woman to rule the state.
Meanwhile, in Florida, Democrat Maxwell Frost became the first Generation Z elected to Congress Tuesday night. Frost, only 25, won the seat vacated by Rep. Val Demings (D), who launched a Senate bid in Florida. He ran on a progressive policy and is expected to become a new member of the “squad” — a group of progressive representatives of color.
Similarly, Becca Balint (D) became the first woman and the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress from Vermont, the last state in the country to send a woman to Congress.
Meanwhile, Republican Anna Paulina Luna successfully flipped Florida’s 13th Congressional District red on Tuesday. Luna becomes Florida´s first Mexican American woman elected to Congress and secures a new seat for Republicans in the House.
Democrat James Roesener became the first transgender man elected to any state legislature, and will represent New Hampshire´s 22nd House District. On Tuesday, Democrat Summer Lee was the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania. She will represent the state’s 12th Congressional District.
Delia Ramirez will represent Illinois’s 3rd Congressional District. She makes history as the first Latina elected to Congress from a Midwestern state. Ramirez, the daughter of immigrants, has spent much of her professional career in public service leadership positions.
Beyond electoral victories, the media pointed out the number of women aspiring to a seat this November 8 was lower than in previous elections, a step backward in women presence to Congress.
The U.S. midterm elections redefined the control of Congress, 36 governorships and other positions, and specialized sources warned that it may take weeks to know all winners for the Lower House.
pll/ro/cgc
