Amanda Crouse
News Editor
The U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3 resulted in a Democratic majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives. While a shift in partisan dominance is not uncommon in midterm elections, this year’s races saw several notable firsts.
First Muslim elected to U.S. Senate
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won a U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, beating Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed is a physician who also served as director of the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017. During his Senate campaign, El-Sayed became the subject of a wave of Islamophobic attacks by politicians and voters alike. President Donald Trump referred to El-Sayed as a “jihadist,” and said he should “have to go through a metal detector” before entering the Senate.
First Black Female Governor
Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat and former mayor of Atlanta, was elected as Georgia’s governor, making her the first Black female governor in United States history. Bottoms’ opponent was Republican billionaire Rick Jackson.
First Native American Female Governor
The first Native American female governor was elected in New Mexico. Democrat Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, won the governor’s race over her Republican opponent, Gregg Hull. Haaland served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for New Mexico’s first district from 2019 to 2021. From 2021 to 2025, she served as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in the Biden administration.
Texas’s First Latina Governor
Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the race for governor of Texas, making her the state’s first Latina governor. She defeated incumbent Republican candidate Greg Abbott, a strong ally of Trump. Hinojosa will be the first Texas Senator from the Democratic Party since 1993. Currently, Hinojosa is a representative for the 49th district in the Texas House of Representatives, a position she has held since 2017.
First Out Gay Male Senator
Democrat Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will be the first out gay man to serve in the U.S. Senate. He is currently a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for New Hampshire’s first district.
Aside from the number of notable firsts, midterm voters also flipped 43 Senate seats to Democratic control.
On Election Day, Trump said he would accept the midterm results. However, one week later, on Nov. 9, he made a post on the social media app Truth Social arguing that the election was fraudulent.
“Does anybody really believe that this ‘Election’ was honest. How could the Polls be so wrong???” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, elected candidates prepare for the first Congressional assembly on Jan. 3, 2027.
