1. First black female governor in the United States
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, claimed victory over Republican billionaire Rick Jackson in the Georgia gubernatorial race to become the nation’s first black female governor.
Bottoms had faced intense scrutiny during his difficult tenure as mayor between 2018 and 2022, a period during which violent crime increased. But during the gubernatorial campaign, she emphasized her ability to fight the Trump administration.
Bottoms also made history as the first Black person and woman to hold Georgia’s highest office.
2. First Muslim in the US Senate
Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s hotly contested Senate race, defeating Republican Mike Rogers to become the chamber’s first Muslim member. His identity was often attacked throughout the race by Rogers and Trump.
3. California’s first elected Latino governor
Xavier Becerra made history as the state’s first elected Latino governor. Becerra navigated a crowded Democratic primary after a disappointing start. He was heavily favored to defeat Republican challenger and conservative pundit Steve Hilton, given the state’s Democratic stronghold. The son of Mexican immigrants, Becerra is poised to govern a state where more than 40 percent of its residents identify as Latino.
4. The first Latino governor of Texas
Democrat Gina Hinojosa pulled off a stunning upset by unseating three-term Governor Greg Abbott. She will be the state’s first Latino governor and the first Democrat to win the office since 1990. Hinojosa’s campaign had little early success, as Abbott beat her in campaign finance.
She quickly became a fierce competitor, touting her focus on affordability and her opposition to new data centers, the latter point making Abbott vulnerable to criticism.
5. First Native American female governor
Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Interior Secretary, comfortably won the New Mexico gubernatorial race.
Haaland thanked voters in an X-rated post Tuesday evening. “You have chosen a future where New Mexico comes first, where working families have a chance to advance, and where every New Mexican has a voice,” she wrote. “Whether you voted for me or not, I will always be your governor too. Because this campaign was about all of us and the future we deserve.”
Haaland is a member of Laguna Pueblo.
6. Florida’s first black governor
Republican Byron Donalds will be Florida’s first black governor, succeeding Ron DeSantis who has reached his term limit. The three-term congressman, whom Donald Trump supported, made affordability central to his campaign, while avoiding mention of the unpopular war with Iran and the resulting surge in oil prices.
7. First gay man elected to the US Senate
New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas has been elected to the U.S. Senate, making him the first gay man to serve in the chamber.
Pappas ripped Trump, Elon Musk and others who supported his opponent, John Sununu, during a victory party with his wife, Vann Bentley, standing nearby.
“They threw money around, attacked ads and flat out lied to us every day for months,” Pappas said. “But we still beat them, didn’t we?”
8. First Native American woman elected to the Senate
Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, is the first Native American woman elected to the United States Senate. Flanagan is Ojibwe and a member of the White Earth Nation.
9. Wisconsin’s first black governor
David Crowley won the race for governor of Wisconsin, becoming the first black person to hold the office. Crowley’s victory came against many odds: He dropped out of the race over the summer, only to return at the behest of incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, and his Republican opponent, Tom Tiffany, far outspent.
10. First female governor of Ohio
Amy Acton, a Democrat, defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio’s first female governor. The final weeks of the campaign were dominated by a widely criticized ad, on which Ramaswamy spent millions of dollars, featuring Acton’s ex-mother calling her daughter a liar. Acton’s mother lost custody of her children after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was accused of raping Acton when she was 12 years old.
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