These 2026 Election-Winners Made History in Their States

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. But a number of states also elected barrier-breakers—from their first transgender state lawmakers to their first Latino or first Black governors.Here are some of the election-winners who made history in their states.Alabama’s first female Attorney General and first openly transgender state lawmakerKatherine Robertson, Alabama’s first female Attorney General-elect, during a campaign event in Mobile on Oct. 2, 2026. Andi Rice—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesAlabama elected its first female Attorney General, Republican Katherine Robertson, who beat Democrat Jeff 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. “This victory is for you.”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. Montgomery’s gender identity came under attack during the campaign, though she tried to keep the focus on issues such as education and affordability. “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. “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.”Arizona’s first Indian American congressperson and first indigenous woman in statewide officeArizona elected its first Indian American to the U.S. House of Representatives and first Indigenous woman to the state’s utility 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. 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. Pratte is reportedly Arizona’s first indigenous woman elected to statewide office.California’s first elected Latino governorDemocrat 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. 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. Becerra’s mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico. She immigrated to the U.S. after marrying his father, a construction worker. 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. He was then the first Latino Health and Human Services Secretary, serving in former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet from 2021 to 2025. “There is no American greatness without California, and there is no California without our diverse communities,” Becerra said during his victory speech Tuesday. “Diversity is not our shortcoming—it’s our superpower. And it isn’t our finish line—it’s our bottomline.”Colorado’s first Gen Z and first Black congresswoman, and first Latina and first openly LGBT Secretary of StateRep.-elect Melat Kiros during the Colorado Democrats’ Election Night watch party in Denver on Nov. 3, 2026. Aaron Ontiveroz—The Denver Post/Getty ImagesDemocratic 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. Kiros, who was born in Addis Ababa in May 1997, will also be the first Gen Z woman in Congress.Also making history in the state is Amanda Gonzalez, who was elected the first Latina and first openly LGBT Colorado Secretary of State.Florida’s first Black governor and first South Asian congresspersonRepublican 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 commissionerIn 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.Indiana’s first openly gay congressmanRep.-elect J.D. Ford, then a state senator, speaks at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis on Dec. 11, 2025. Kaiti Sullivan—Bloomberg/Getty ImagesDemocratic 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. 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.Iowa’s first Senator with a permanent disabilityDemocrat 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.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. Turek pursued wheelchair basketball in college and competed professionally in Europe. He’s competed in four Paralympic Games and won gold in two. “Iowa, we have done it—what they said was impossible,” Turek said in his victory speech Tuesday. “Together, Iowa, we have proven that the impossible was possible.”Massachusetts’ first Asian American congresspersonRep.-Elect Dan Koh gives remarks alongside members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus during a new member orientation press conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 8, 2026. Aaron Schwartz—Getty ImagesDemocrat 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. Koh’s win makes him the first Asian American elected to represent the state in the U.S. 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.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. 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. Moss defeated Republican Ethan Baker in the race to replace Democrat Haley Stevens, who lost to Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator. Jason Hoskins, who was elected to replace Moss in his state senate seat, will become the first openly gay Black member of the Michigan Senate.Sean McCann, another state senator, will become the first Native American elected to Congress from Michigan. The Democrat, who discovered that he belonged to the federally recognized Citizen Potawatomi Nation just this year, beat Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Huizenga to represent Michigan’s 4th district.And lastly, clinical spiritual care provider Joanna Whaley will become Michigan’s first elected transgender legislator after winning election to the state’s lower house.Minnesota’s first woman governorDemocratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar will become Minnesota’s first female governor after she defeated Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Klobuchar, who will succeed Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, has broken the glass ceiling before: she was the first female Hennepin County attorney and the first woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. Senate, a seat she has held since 2007. In her victory speech, Klobuchar thanked her supporters for her milestones and celebrated other ceilings broken, including the election of the country’s first Native American female senator, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who will succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.Nebraska’s first Latina congresspersonDemocrat Denise Powell beat Republican Brinker Harding to represent Nebraska’s 2nd district. Powell, a Democratic activist who co-founded the Women Who Run Nebraska political action committee to coach local women to run for office, is Hispanic and will become the state’s first Latina elected to Congress.“We made history tonight,” Powell said in her victory speech Tuesday. “Not only did you help elect the first woman and first Latina to ever hold this seat, but you helped send a clear message to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” she said, referring to the Trump White House.Nevada’s first Latina congressperson, first Black governor, and first Black woman statewide officialTeresa Benitez-Thompson is the first Latina elected to the U.S. House from Nevada. The Democratic former state assembly majority leader defeated Republican David Flippo, flipping the state’s 2nd district that’s been held by Republicans since its creation in the 1980s. Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford will also make history as the state’s first Black governor, after he defeated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. He will join other historic Black governors-elect, Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia and Byron Donalds in Florida.Nevada Gov.-elect Aaron D. Ford at the Nevada Democratic Party’s election watch party in Las Vegas on Nov. 3, 2026. Ethan Miller—Getty ImagesTya Mathis-Coleman, Nevada’s treasurer-elect, will also become the state’s first Black woman elected to statewide constitutional office.New Jersey’s first Muslim congresspersonEgyptian American surgeon Adam Hamawy will become New Jersey’s first Muslim representative in Congress after the Democrat beat Republican Gregg Mele in the contest to represent the state’s 12th district. Hamawy, a former U.S. Army combat surgeon, will succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.Hamawy volunteered for medical missions in the Gaza Strip in 2024 and 2025 and spoke throughout his campaign about what he witnessed there. In his victory speech, he alluded to Islamophobia in the U.S., saying, “I have never seen anti-Muslim hate as open and as loud and as accepted as it is today.” New York’s first Native American congresswoman, first Muslim congressperson, first Palestinian American state senator, and first non-binary state assemblymembersDemocratic socialists won big in New York—and several made history, too. Claire Valdez, a New York assemblymember backed by popular New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, will head to Capitol Hill in January as the state's first Native American woman in Congress, after her election to represent the state’s 7th district. Valdez, a Latina and a citizen of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Nation, bested Republican Melvin Rivera in a race to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a community organizer who worked for Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, will be the first Muslim to represent New York in Congress, after she defeated Republican Jomo Williams to succeed Rep. Adriano Espaillat, whom Avila Chevalier beat in the Democratic primary, as representative of the state’s 13th district.Another member of the Democratic Socialists of America, state senator-elect Aber Kawas, will become the first Palestinian American in the New York State Legislature. Kawas acknowledged the feat on social media, posting: “We made history.”Ohio’s first elected female governorOhio Gov.-elect Amy Acton greets supporters at an Election Night watch party in Columbus on Nov. 3, 2026. Jeff Swensen—Getty ImagesDr. Amy Acton, a Democrat who previously served as the director of Ohio’s health department at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, defeated Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race to become Ohio’s next governor. While Nancy Hollister served as Ohio’s first female governor for 11 days from 1998 to 1999, Hollister assumed the post through succession after Gov. George Voinovich resigned following his election to the U.S. Senate. Acton, therefore, is the first woman Ohio elected to be governor.Rhode Island’s first openly LGBT Attorney GeneralDemocrat Kim Ahern, a former state prosecutor, defeated Republican Alan Gordon in the race to become Rhode Island’s next Attorney General. Ahern pointed to the historic nature of her success, including becoming the state’s first openly LGBT Attorney General and first Democratic woman in the role: “I am especially proud we made history tonight. It was the first time in our state’s history women will hold a majority of our general offices. I am honored to be part of that milestone,” she said in her victory speech.Tennessee’s first woman governorRepublican Sen. Marsha Blackburn was elected Tennessee’s first female governor, beating Democratic candidate Jerri Green and several independents. When she takes office next year, Blackburn, who will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Lee, will also become Tennessee’s oldest governor at 74, taking the record from Republican Alfred Alexander Taylor, who was 72 when he took office in 1921.Texas’ first Latina governorTexas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa speaks at her Election Night watch party in Austin on Nov. 3, 2026. Mikala Compton—The Austin American-Statesman/Getty ImagesDemocrat Gina Hinojosa was elected as the new governor of Texas, becoming the first Hispanic person elected to the office in the state's history. Hinojosa is the first Democrat elected to the state’s governor’s mansion in more than three decades.“I can’t help but think of my grandmother who used to tell me, ‘No te dejes.’ ‘Know your worth, and fight for it,’” Hinojosa said in her victory speech. “A lot of Latinas in Texas grew up hearing those same words from their own mothers and abuelas. This year, we lived them, and we changed this state.”Washington’s first transgender state lawmakerJaelynn Scott, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, will be the first openly transgender person to serve in Washington's Legislature. Scott, the executive director of the Lavender Rights Project, a Black trans advocacy organization, told nonprofit newsroom The 19th on Tuesday that her win felt “pretty surreal.” “The fact is, people that look like me and have my identity in 2026 are used to being under attack — not leading,” she said. “I think it was because of what’s happening to us, and really maybe even a bit of fear about what might happen to me and my community, that inspired me to run. I never thought we would get this far.”Wisconsin’s first Black governor, first Latina and first Hmong statewide officials, and first transgender state legislatorDemocrat David Crowley was elected Wisconsin’s first Black governor, after defeating Republican Tom Tiffany in the race to replace Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who chose not to run for reelection.Other Democratic candidates also made history in Wisconsin. JoCasta Zamarripa became the first Latina elected to statewide office as Wisconsin’s Secretary of State. Yee Leng Xiong, who was elected as state treasurer, will become Wisconsin’s first Hmong statewide elected official. And Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, a former food-service worker who beat Republican Nina Chat in a race to represent the state assembly’s 76th district, will become the first transgender woman in the Wisconsin state legislature.“I think about when I was a kid, had I seen people that were trans doing things like being in government and being on television and living life,” Martinez-Rutherford, 56, told the Capital Times. “I hope that it gives kids or families of trans people hope that they can live to be adults and that their children are going to be safe because they have somebody representing them.”