U.S. & World News

2018 Midterm election fun facts: A year of firsts

Photo courtesy of Getty Images | Jared Polis celebrates his election to Colorado Governor. He is the first openly gay governor in the U.S.

Jared Polis (D-CO) became the first openly gay governor of Colorado. He previously served in the House and is married with two children. Chris Pappas (D-NH) is the first openly gay  member elected to Congress and Angie Craig (D-MH) is the first lesbian mother elected to Congress.

Photo courtesy of the Twitter

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York became the youngest woman appointed to Congress. She recently spoke out about not being able to afford an apartment in DC due to the high cost of living. Marsha Blackburn is the first female senator from Tennessee. She is the first woman elected to this seat in Senate history. Her three main campaign promises included having policies lean right while still working towards more inclusion, changing the perception that Congress is broken and uniting fractured communities to unite everyone politically. Alongside her, we saw Janet Mills (D-ME) and Kristi Noem (R-SD) as the first female governors in their respective states. Abby Finkenauer (D-IA) and Cindy Axne (D-IA) claimed swing districts in Iowa for House of Representatives.

Minorities Making Firsts

Sharice Davids (D-KS) was one of the first Native American congresswomen, along with Deb Haaland (D-NM), to be elected to Congress. Davids is from the Ho-Chunk Nation and is the first LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Kansas. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is one of two Muslim women elected to Congress and the first Palestinian woman. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is the second Muslim woman elected to Congress. Omar is the first Somali-American legislator and first Woman of Color from Minnesota. Jahana Hayes (CT) and Ayanna Pressley (MA) became the first Black congresswoman from their respective states, along with Letitia James (D-NY) the first Blac Attorney General. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), are the first Texan Latinas in Congress. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) is the first Democratic Latina governor in the U.S.

  • 100 women were elected to the House, the most ever.
  • Texas elected its first two hispanic women to the House.
  • South Dakota elected its first female governor
  • Arizona and Tennesse elected their first female senators.
  • Kansas elected the first ever Native American woman to Congress.

By: Gillen Faenza | Guest Writer