Last week’s midterm elections, in which Democrats regained control of Congress, saw several victors make historic national firsts, including the first Muslim U.S. Senator-elect, the first openly gay male U.S. Senator-elect, and the first Native American female governor-elect.
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victors → regain → elect
But a number of states also elected barrier-breakers—from their first transgender state lawmakers to their first Latino or first Black governors.
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number → elect → governors
Here are some of the election-winners who made history in their states.
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who → make → states
Alabama elected its first female Attorney General, Republican Katherine Robertson, who beat Democrat Jeff McLaughlin.
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who → elect → McLaughlin
“Thanks to every one of you who filled in the bubble with my name, a small-town girl from Selma is now the first woman elected Attorney General,” Robertson said in a statement after Election Day.
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Robertson → fill → Day
Alabama also elected its first openly transgender state lawmaker, Democratic software engineer Allison Montgomery, who flipped a seat held by Republicans in the state House of Representatives.
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who → elect → Representatives
Montgomery’s gender identity came under attack during the campaign, though she tried to keep the focus on issues such as education and affordability.
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she → come → education
“People across the political spectrum seem to be making a big deal out of the trans thing, but that’s not why I ran for this seat,” Montgomery told the Alabama Political Reporter, saying she is tired of hearing how “historic” her victory was.
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victory → seem → Reporter
“I felt a calling to be a public servant, and now I’m gonna do my best for all of us, regardless of how you voted or what you think of my gender.”
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you → feel → gender
Arizona’s first Indian American congressperson and first indigenous woman in statewide office
Arizona elected its first Indian American to the U.S. House of Representatives and first Indigenous woman to the state’s utility commission.
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Arizona → elect → commission
Democrat Amish Shah, an emergency room doctor and former state legislator, beat the GOP nominee, former NFL placekicker and broadcaster Jay Feely, to succeed retiring Republican David Schweikert as U.S. representative for Arizona’s 1st district.
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Shah → beat → district
Meanwhile, Democrat Clara Pratte, a member of the Navajo Nation, was elected to Arizona’s Corporation Commission, the state’s five-member utility-regulation body that was previously entirely Republican but will now have two Democrats after Tuesday’s election.
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that → elect → election
Pratte is reportedly Arizona’s first indigenous woman elected to statewide office.
uncertain
Pratte → elect → office
California’s first elected Latino governor
Democrat Xavier Becerra will become California’s first elected Latino governor after beating Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton in the race to succeed term-limited Democrat Gavin Newsom.
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Becerra → elect → Newsom
Becerra will technically be the second Latino to hold the office, as Romualdo Pacheco served as governor by succession for a short time in 1875.
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Pacheco → hold → 1875
Becerra’s mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico.
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mother → bear → Jalisco
She immigrated to the U.S. after marrying his father, a construction worker.
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She → immigrate → father
Becerra first served as a U.S. Representative for California between 1993 and 2017, before his appointment as California’s first Latino Attorney General in 2017 and election to the role in 2018.
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Becerra → serve → 2018
He was then the first Latino Health and Human Services Secretary, serving in former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet from 2021 to 2025.
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He → serve → 2025
“There is no American greatness without California, and there is no California without our diverse communities,” Becerra said during his victory speech Tuesday.
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Becerra → be → speech
“Diversity is not our shortcoming—it’s our superpower.
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it → ’ → ?
And it isn’t our finish line—it’s our bottomline.”
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it → ’ → ?
Colorado’s first Gen Z and first Black congresswoman, and first Latina and first openly LGBT Secretary of State
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old Ethiopian-born lawyer turned doctoral student, will become the first Black woman to represent Colorado in Congress, after she was elected to represent the state’s 1st district in the U.S. House.
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she → bear → House
Kiros, who was born in Addis Ababa in May 1997, will also be the first Gen Z woman in Congress.
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who → bear → Congress
Also making history in the state is Amanda Gonzalez, who was elected the first Latina and first openly LGBT Colorado Secretary of State.
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who → make → State
Florida’s first Black governor and first South Asian congressperson
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds will be Florida’s first Black governor, after he was elected to succeed Ron DeSantis.
Democrat Pia Dandiya, a former school principal and the daughter of Indian immigrants, won the race to represent Florida’s 22nd district in the U.S. House and will become the state’s first South Asian congressperson.
Georgia’s first Black woman elected Secretary of State, first woman Attorney General, and first Black woman labor commissioner
In Georgia, Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds will be the state’s first Black woman elected Secretary of State (after Robyn Crittenden was briefly appointed to the role in 2018), Democrat Tanya Miller will be the state’s first female Attorney General, and Democrat Nikki Porcher will be the state’s first Black female Commissioner of Labor.
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Porcher → elect → Labor
Meanwhile, Democrat Bentley Hudgins became the first trans and nonbinary person elected to Georgia’s state legislature.
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Hudgins → become → legislature
Indiana’s first openly gay congressman
Democratic state senator J.D. Ford will be Indiana’s first openly LGBT member of Congress after beating Republican incumbent Rep. Victoria Spartz, securing a seat Democrats haven’t held since 1992.
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Democrats → beat → 1992
Ford, who is gay, has been a strong advocate for LGBT rights and previously made history when, in 2018, he unseated a 13-year incumbent who campaigned against same-sex marriage to become the first openly gay member of the Indiana state legislature.
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who → make → legislature
Iowa’s first Senator with a permanent disability
Democrat Josh Turek will be Iowa’s first U.S. Senator with a permanent disability, after the state lawmaker defeated GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson and became the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate election in Iowa since 2008.
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lawmaker → defeat → 2008
The 47-year-old Turek, who will replace outgoing Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that he says stemmed from his father’s exposure to Agent Orange while on deployment to Vietnam.
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he → replace → Vietnam
Turek pursued wheelchair basketball in college and competed professionally in Europe.
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Turek → pursue → Europe
He’s competed in four Paralympic Games and won gold in two.
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He → compete → two
“Iowa, we have done it—what they said was impossible,” Turek said in his victory speech Tuesday.
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Turek → do → speech
“Together, Iowa, we have proven that the impossible was possible.”
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impossible → prove → ?
Massachusetts’ first Asian American congressperson
Democrat Dan Koh, whose father is Korean and whose mother is Lebanese, won the race to represent Massachusetts’ 6th district in Congress, beating Republican Micah Quinney Jones.
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mother → win → Jones
Koh’s win makes him the first Asian American elected to represent the state in the U.S. House.
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him → make → House
Koh served in the Biden Administration as White House Deputy Cabinet Secretary and was previously Chief of Staff to the U.S. Department of Labor.
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Koh → serve → Labor
Michigan’s first openly LGBT congressperson, first Native American congressperson, first openly gay Black state senator, and first transgender state representative
Several Democrats have made history in Michigan.
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Democrats → make → Michigan
State senator Jeremy Moss will become the state’s first openly LGBT member of Congress after he was elected to represent Michigan’s 11th district.
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he → become → district
…and 54 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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