Many of the new officeholders are Democrats, but Republicans also broke new ground. Voters' rights advocates celebrated what they described as an expanding electorate. "These firsts show how our country is changing," Alexis Anderson-Reed, president and CEO of State Voices, a network of advocates for civic engagement and equity in democracy, said via email. "For years, people of colour and LGBTQ+ communities have organised, knocked on doors, talked to voters, held conversations, and done the hard work of saving our democracy. These wins are because of them."
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, was declared winner in the Georgia governor's race on Wednesday AEDT, ending 250 years of US history without a Black woman elected as a state's governor. She defeated Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and will also be Georgia's first governor of colour; all 83 previous governors were white men. "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 told supporters. "It's been defined by all of us, and I will be a governor for everyone in this state."
In New Mexico, Democrat Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo citizen, becomes the first Native American woman elected governor in US history, defeating Republican Gregg Hull, a former mayor. "Tonight, in our nation's 250th year, I stand before you as the first Native American woman elected governor in US history," she told supporters. "I want every child watching to know that your dreams matter and that New Mexico is a place where you can build the life you want."
Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, is the first Native American female senator, defeating Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter. Tafoya would have been the first Latina-heritage Republican to serve in the Senate. In Alaska, Yup'ik Democrat Mary Peltola could also become the first Alaska Native senator; votes in her race against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan are still being tabulated. She became the first Alaska Native elected to the House in 2022.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will become the first Muslim American to serve in the Senate, winning the Michigan race against Republican Mike Rogers. The progressive epidemiologist told a Detroit crowd: "You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates. Thank you. This is all yours." El-Sayed has had to contend with Republicans, including Trump, implying or overtly stating that he is not American and supports terrorism. Trump has called him "dangerously radical" and "too extreme" and referred to him as "Mohammed." El-Sayed and his supporters have denounced the attacks as Islamophobic or racist affronts to religious freedom.
Democrat Chris Pappas won his New Hampshire race against former senator John Sununu to become the country's first openly gay male senator. "I'm not running to make history," Pappas said, while applauding that his sexual orientation was not a huge source of discussion among voters.
Elsewhere, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, the only serving Black governor before Tuesday, won re-election, and Republicans Byron Donalds in Florida and Democrat David Crowley in Wisconsin were elected as the first Black governors of their states. With Bottoms' victory, a Black leader will govern two Deep South states for the first time. Texas voters chose Democrat Gina Hinojosa over Governor Greg Abbott to become the state's first Latina governor, and Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former California attorney-general, outpaced Republican Steve Hilton to become California's first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco in 1875. Moore, chair of the National Governors Association, called the presence of so many Black gubernatorial contenders "a unique moment," describing it not as "an applause line" but a challenge to make diverse gubernatorial nominees more common.
Lisa Demuth, the former Minnesota House Speaker, missed her chance to become the first Black female governor, overtaken by longtime senator Amy Klobuchar. Stacey Abrams was previously the only Black woman to come close, earning the Georgia Democratic Party's nomination in 2018 and 2022.
The midterms also set records for women. Democrats increased their 2022 female candidate count to 19 running for governor, according to the Centre for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, while Republicans had seven. Nearly 300 women, including incumbents, ran for the Senate and House. Tennessee elected its first female governor: Republican senator Marsha Blackburn beat Democrat Jerri Green, a Memphis city councilwoman. In Illinois, Democrat Juliana Stratton, the current lieutenant governor, defeated Republican Don Tracy and will succeed retiring Democratic senator Dick Durbin. With fellow Democrat Tammy Duckworth, who is of Thai heritage, Illinois becomes the first state represented by two female senators of colour, and three Black women will serve in the Senate.