OMM Newsroom
The 2026 US midterm elections produced historic firsts in races across the country, with women and candidates from minority communities winning seats in Congress and governorships, Anadolu Agency reported.
Among the results were the election of the first Black woman governor in US history, the first Native American woman to win a Senate seat and New Jersey’s first Muslim member of Congress.
Democrats secured a majority in the US Senate in Tuesday’s elections, dealing a blow to the second half of President Donald Trump’s term. US media projected a 53-42 Democratic advantage as of 0700 GMT, with Democrats gaining at least seven seats nationwide.
Democrats also won control of the House of Representatives after Johnny Garcia defeated Carlos De La Cruz in Texas’s 35th District, according to The Associated Press. The result gave Democrats the 218 seats required for a majority in the 435-member chamber, ending Republican control. As of 0639 GMT, 87 races had yet to be called.
Democrats also won key gubernatorial races in traditionally Republican states, including Georgia and Texas.
Historic wins in Senate and governor races
Abdul El-Sayed, a 42-year-old Egyptian American Democrat and former public health official, became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate after defeating Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan.
El-Sayed is a medical doctor who served as Detroit’s health director and led the Wayne County Department of Health, Human and Veterans Services, which includes Detroit, Michigan’s largest city. Born and raised in Michigan to an Egyptian immigrant father, he graduated from the University of Michigan, earned a doctorate at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and received his medical degree from Columbia University.
He won the Democratic nomination in August, defeating US Representative Haley Stevens in a closely watched primary. His campaign focused on healthcare, economic inequality and curbing corporate influence in politics.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman elected governor of a US state. She is also Georgia’s first woman and first Black governor. Her victory returned the governor’s office to Democrats for the first time since 1998, ending more than two decades of Republican control.
Bottoms was Atlanta’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and worked in local government before running for statewide office.
Former US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland became the first Native American woman elected governor of a state, defeating Republican Gregg Hull in New Mexico. A citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, Haaland became the first Native American to serve as a US Cabinet secretary in 2021, when President Joe Biden appointed her to lead the Interior Department.
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman elected to the Senate, defeating Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter. Flanagan, an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Tina Smith.
Before becoming lieutenant governor in 2019, Flanagan served on the Minneapolis Board of Education and represented St. Louis Park in the Minnesota House of Representatives. She has also worked on Indigenous rights and relations between state government and tribal nations.
Democrat Adam Hamawy won New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, becoming the state’s first Muslim member of Congress. Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and former US Army combat surgeon, defeated Republican Gregg Mele.
New milestones in Texas and other states
Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican incumbent Greg Abbott to become Texas’s first Latina governor. Her victory returns Democrats to the governor’s office after more than three decades; the last Democrat to hold the position was Ann Richards, who left office in 1995.
Republican Byron Donalds narrowly defeated Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s first Black governor and the first Black Republican elected governor in US history. Donalds, a member of the House of Representatives, will succeed Ron DeSantis. He is also the first Black candidate elected to statewide office in Florida.
In Wisconsin, Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican Tom Tiffany to become the state’s first Black governor. Crowley, previously Milwaukee County executive, will succeed Democrat Tony Evers.
Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio’s first woman elected governor and its first Jewish governor. A physician and former director of the Ohio Department of Health, Acton became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic for her role in the state’s public health response.
Nancy Hollister served briefly as governor for 11 days in 1998-99, but Acton is the first woman elected to the office.
Democrat Juliana Stratton’s victory in Illinois’s Senate race means three Black women will serve in the chamber at the same time for the first time when she takes office in January 2027. She will join Democratic Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware.
Stratton served as Illinois lieutenant governor under Governor JB Pritzker. She will also be the second Black woman elected to represent Illinois in the Senate, after Carol Moseley Braun, who won her seat in 1992. Illinois will have two women of color in the Senate, alongside Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth.
