A Massachusetts Democrat is the country’s first openly lesbian candidate to be elected to the office of governor. In Maryland, voters elected the State's first Black governor. Vermont will finally send a woman to Congress, after being the only State never to have had female representation in the House.
Across the country, women, LGBTQ, and Black candidates broke barriers Tuesday as part of a new generation of politicians elected to governor's offices and seats in Congress.
The number of women serving as governors will hit double digits for the first time in 2023, with at least 12 women set to lead States. Ten had already won their races; two other races had not been decided but featured women candidates in both parties.
The U.S. has never had more than nine female governors in office at a time, a record set in 2004, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. The new record numbers mean nearly one-fourth of the country's States will be run by women. The party majority for female governors is still not clear.
One of the winners, Maura Healey, is the first woman to be elected to Massachusetts′ top post and also makes history by becoming the country's first openly lesbian candidate to be elected governor.
Massachusetts Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, front, speaks to reporters as Republican Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker, behind, looks on during a news conference on Nov. 9, 2022, at the Statehouse, in Boston. | Photo Credit: AP
“Tonight, I want to say something to every little girl and every young LGBTQ person out there,” Ms. Healey said to supporters at a downtown Boston hotel after her victory Tuesday night. “I hope tonight shows you that you can be whatever, whoever you want to be and nothing and no one can ever get in your way except your own imagination and that’s not going to happen.”
If Democrat Tina Kotek wins Oregon's gubernatorial race, where The Associated Press has not declared a winner, she may join Ms. Healey in making history as a lesbian candidate elected governor.
In Maryland, voters chose Democrat Wes Moore, who will be the State's first Black governor. He is only the third Black candidate in the country to be elected governor.
Mr. Moore, a combat veteran, led one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations and campaigned on creating equal opportunity for his state residents. He flips a governor’s office from Republican to Democratic. The current Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is term limited.
Maryland Gov.-elect Wes Moore speaks to supporters at an election night event in Baltimore, Md., on Nov. 8, 2022. | Photo Credit: AP
Florida, meanwhile, is sending the first member of Gen Z to Congress, with the comfortable victory of Democrat Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old Black man with Cuban heritage.
Mr. Frost said that Gen Zers, those born from 1997 to 2012, are voting at higher levels, even though roughly half of the generation isn’t yet old enough. In an Associated Press interview, he praised President Biden’s focus on climate change and student debt cancelation.
Mr. Frost campaigned on gun control and Medicare for all and secured high-profile endorsements from progressive U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The seat had been left open when Val Demings decided to run for Senate, but Florida’s 10th District, which includes the Orlando area, is reliably Democratic.
“I’m just excited to work in Congress and advocate for these broad universal programs and things that will really, Number 1., help peoples’ day-to-day life, but also, Number 2, from a political standpoint, these things excite people because it shows folks that government can work," he told The Associated Press.
Also marking a first, Vermont, which elected its first female governor in the 1980s, had been the only State that had never sent a woman to Congress. Democrat Becca Balint, President of the Vermont Senate, will reach that milestone and also become the first openly gay person to fill the State’s single seat in the U.S. House.
Arkansas’ 1st female governor
Sarah Huckabee Sanders will become the first woman governor of Arkansas. Ms. Sanders, a Republican, rose to prominence when she served as White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump between 2017 and 2019. Her victory also makes her the first daughter of a former governor to fill the position held by her father. Mike Huckabee was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
Ms. Sanders faced Democrat Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer who would have become Arkansas’ first Black governor and who acknowledged the importance of Ms. Sanders' milestone.
“History was made. Sarah’s election has shown women, including my little girls, that being a woman is no longer a barrier to becoming governor in our State," Mr. Jones said in a statement.
Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during her election night party on Nov. 8, 2022, in Little Rock, Ark. | Photo Credit: AP
Pennsylvania elects its first Black congresswoman
Democratic state representative Summer Lee’s victory in the State’s 12th District makes her Pennsylvania’s first Black congresswoman. The Pittsburgh-based House seat was open after Mike Doyle announced his retirement.
Illinois 1st Latina Congresswoman
Delia Ramirez, a Democrat, defeated Republican Justin Burau to represent Illinois’ 3rd District, in Chicago. Ms. Ramirez, 39, was the first Guatemalan American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.
First trans man elected to a State legislature
Democrat James Roesener was elected as a State Representative to New Hampshire's 400-member House, becoming the first trans man elected to a State legislature, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Mr. Roesener, 26, said he wanted to run after a “parental rights” bill was introduced in the House that would have required schools to notify parents of children’s developments, including their gender identity and expression.
The bill didn’t pass, but it was by a slim margin. “I don’t really see that as a fight that’s over,” he said.
In Minnesota, Leigh Finke became the first openly transgender person elected to the State’s Legislature. She told the AP on Wednesday that she decided to run after seeing growing anti-transgender sentiment across the country, saying she felt “we have to have trans people in these rooms. If we are going to lose our rights, at least they have to look us in the eye when they do it.”
Minnesota’s Legislature was divided at the time and she felt like she might be entering a “pressure cooker” — but after Democrats took control on Tuesday, she now sees opportunity to pass laws to help the LGBTQ community.
Voters in western Montana elected the State’s first out transgender lawmaker, Zooey Zephyr, and S.J. Howell, the first out nonbinary candidate to the state legislature, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. Both are Democrats and were elected in State House districts in Missoula County.
Five Indian-American lawmakers elected
A record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party, including Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera have been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, while several others were elected in State legislatures.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Indian-American entrepreneur-turned-politician and Democrat Shri Thanedar became the first India-American to win the Congressional elections from Michigan, pipping Republican candidate Martell Bivings. Mr. Thanedar currently represents the third district in the Michigan House.
In the eighth Congressional District of Illinois, Raja Krishnamoorthi was re-elected for the fourth consecutive term by a comfortable margin. He defeated his Republican opponent, Chris Dargis.
In Silicon Valley, Indian-American Ro Khanna defeated his compatriot Republican opponent Ritesh Tandon in the 17th Congressional District of California.
Chennai-born Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the only Indian-American woman lawmaker in the House of Representatives, defeated her GOP rival, Cliff Moon in the 7th Congressional District of Washington State.
Mr. Bera is the longest-serving Indian-American in Congress. He has been representing California’s seventh Congressional District since 2013. Mr. Bera has defeated Republican Tamika Hamilton.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Khanna, Ms. Jayapal and Mr. Bera were members of the previous House.
Indian-American candidates picked up seats in State legislatures also. In Maryland, Aruna Miller scripted history by becoming the first Indian-American politician to win the race of Lieutenant Governor.
Ms. Miller, a former delegate to the Maryland House, was on the Lieutenant Governor ticket along with Mr. Moore.
However, Indian-American Sandeep Srivastava lost from Texas’s third Congressional district to Keith Self, the former Colin County judge.
Indian-Americans who have made it to various State legislatures include Arvind Venkat, and Tarik Khan in Pennsylvania; Salman Bhojani and Suleman Lalani in Texas; Sam Singh and Ranjeev Puri in Michigan, Nabeela Syed, Megan Srinivas and Kavin Olickal in Illinois, Nabliah Islam and Farooq Mughal in Georgia; Kumar Bharve in Maryland, and Anita Samani in Ohio.
K.P. George has been reelected to the Texas Fort Bend County Judge, Monica Singh to the Texas Harris County Judge and Ajay Raman has been elected as Oakland County Commissioner.
There are several races where Indian Americans are involved in a tightly contested race and many of them could be declared winners. They are Padma Kuppa for the Michigan State Senate; Jeremy Cooney for the New York State Senate; Anna Thomas for the Pennsylvania State House; Juli Mathew for Fort Bend County Judge; Surendran Pattel for Fort Bend County Judge and Zohaib Qadri who is heading into a runoff for the Texas City Council.
Counting is still on in four other races where Indian Americans are involved. They are Priya Sundareshan for the Arizona State Senate; Janani Ramachandran for the Oakland City Council; Sim Gill for Salt Lake County District Attorney and Manka Dhingra for Washington State Senate.
(With inputs from PTI)
