17 Candidates Who Made History in the 2026 Midterms

Abdul El-SayedJEFF KOWALSKY//Getty ImagesDr. El-Sayed became the first Muslim American elected to the Senate. “I’m not running to be the first Muslim anything,” El-Sayed told CNN. “I just want to be a really, really great senator for my state.”Chris PappasJOSEPH PREZIOSO//Getty ImagesPappas became the first openly gay male Senator upon winning his election in New Hampshire.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowPeggy FlanaganStar Tribune//Getty ImagesFlanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is set to become the first Native American woman to serve in the Senate. (She could be joined by Alaska’s Mary Peltola, of the Yup’ik tribe, but that race has not been called yet.)Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowJosh TurekKAMIL KRZACZYNSKI//Getty ImagesTurek, two-time Paralympic gold medalist for Team USA (with the wheelchair basketball team), was elected in Iowa. He will become the first Senator to have been a Paralympian, and the first Senator with spina bifida.Keisha Lance BottomsPrince Williams//Getty ImagesNot only did Bottoms become Georgia’s first Black and first female governor, she is the first Black woman to be elected governor of any U.S. state.“Tonight should remind us all that no matter what community we come from, Georgia is not defined by one moment in time or by one person,” Bottoms said in her victory speech. “It’s been defined by all of us, and I will be a governor for everyone in this state.”Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowXavier BecerraLos Angeles Times//Getty ImagesBecerra, the former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, was elected the first Latino governor of California.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowGina HinojosaJoel Angel Juarez//Getty ImagesHinojosa was elected the first Latina governor of Texas. She will also be the first Democratic governor of the Lone Star State in more than three decades.Deb HaalandSam Wasson//Getty ImagesHaaland, former United States Secretary of the Interior, will be the first Native American woman governor. “Tonight, in our nation’s 250th year, I stand before you as the first Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history,” she said last night.Haaland, of Pueblo Indian descent, is no stranger to making history: She was the the first Native American cabinet secretary.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAmy ActonJeff Swensen//Getty ImagesActon defeated Vivek Ramaswamy to become the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the state’s first Jewish governor.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowDavid CrowleyJohn Moore//Getty ImagesCrowley will become the first Black governor of Wisconsin. He actually dropped out of the race over the summer, but rejoined at the urging of the outgoing Democratic governor.Amy KlobucharSahan Journal//Getty ImagesFormer Senator Klobuchar will become the first woman to be governor of Minnesota.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowJuliana StrattonScott Olson//Getty ImagesWith Stratton’s victory in the senate race in Illinois, the state will now be represented by two women of color—the first time in U.S. history both senators from a state are women of color.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowMelat KirosAAron Ontiveroz//Getty ImagesKiros’s victory in Colorado’s first district was history making in numerous ways: At 29, she is the first Gen Z woman elected to the House, and Colorado’s first Black woman representative.Annie AndrewsWin McNamee//Getty ImagesDr. Andrews, a pediatrician, became the first woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAaron FordEthan Miller//Getty ImagesNevada’s Attorney General is poised to become the first Black governor of the state.Advertisement - Continue Reading BelowAdam HamawyDrew Angerer//Getty ImagesDr. Hamawy, a retired U.S. Army combat surgeon, will be the first Muslim representative from New Jersey.Claire ValdezMichael M. Santiago//Getty ImagesValdez, citizen of Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo, is set to become the first female Native American member of Congress from New York.Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.