After Tuesday’s election, we saw some remarkable firsts in American history.
The list is truly extraordinary.
Keisha Lance Bottoms (Georgia):
First Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. Also Georgia’s first governor of color.
Deb Haaland (New Mexico):
First Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history.
Peggy Flanagan (Minnesota):
First Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Abdul El-Sayed (Michigan):
First Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.
Chris Pappas (New Hampshire):
First openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate.
First Latina elected governor of Texas.
First Black governor in Wisconsin history.
First Black governor in Nevada history.
Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota):
First woman elected governor of Minnesota.
Xavier Becerra (California):
First Latino elected governor of California since 1875, ending a 151-year gap.
Juliana Stratton (Illinois):
Her election, alongside incumbent Tammy Duckworth, makes Illinois the first state represented simultaneously by two women of color in the U.S. Senate.
Juliana Stratton (Illinois): Her victory brings the number of Black women serving simultaneously in the U.S. Senate to three, a historic high.
James Talarico (Texas):
First Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988.
Adam Hamilton (Kansas):
First Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932, ending a 94-year drought.
Before this election, only three Black Americans had ever been elected governor of a U.S. state. The 2026 election added four more.
For the first time, five Black governors will serve simultaneously:
Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms, David Crowley, Aaron Ford and Wes Moore, alongside Republican Byron Donalds.
Jaelynn Scott (Washington):
First openly black transgender person elected to any state legislature in U.S. history. Also Washington’s first transgender state legislator.
Allison Montgomery (Alabama):
First openly transgender person elected to the Alabama Legislature. She defeated a Republican incumbent.
Joanna Whaley (Michigan):
First openly transgender person elected to the Michigan Legislature.
Bentley Hudgins (Georgia):
First openly nonbinary and transgender member of the Georgia General Assembly, and its first Japanese American member.
Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford (Wisconsin):
First openly transgender person elected to the Wisconsin Legislature.
Aber Kawas (New York):
First Palestinian American elected to the New York State Legislature.
For the first time in American history, none of the nation’s ten most populous states will have a governor who is a white Christian man.
Zero.
That accounts for about 55% of the US population.
It truly was a historic night.
Some added bonuses:
It almost certainly sent a lot of thin-skinned bigots into little fits of rage.
It probably caused a great deal of angst and fear in religious zealots who blame their cruelty, hatred, and institutional intolerance on the word of God.
It likely made a bunch of cosplay bros who compensate for their lack of self-confidence and self-worth with large biceps and even larger guns feel very nervous about their unearned standing in this country.
And it probably outraged a lot of middling white, straight men who have convinced themselves that the world isn’t fair because it no longer bends so easily to their will.
But I get it.
The markets are more competitive today as women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community gain their fair share of power, prestige, and opportunity. As more people are permitted fair access to the playing field, it gets harder to win.
It requires greater effort to succeed.
When your race, gender, and sexual orientation no longer afford you the unearned privileges of the past, it’s probably very unsettling, especially if you were hoping to enjoy the same path to success as previous generations of people like you.
Unless you can fall ass-backward into Mommy or Daddy’s company or coast by on generational wealth and a forever safety net, success requires grit, determination, collaboration, the desire to learn, the ability to treat people with respect, the willingness to read a book, and the courage to take risks.
Not everyone is willing or able to do these things, especially in a world of increasing opportunity for all.
Election Day was a step forward toward a more perfect and more equal union.
Most of us are thrilled by the results, as evidenced by the overwhelming victories across our great country.
A happy day indeed.
