Historic Wins of the 2022 Midterm Elections
Though most of the attention on the midterm elections this year was focused on which political party would gain control of the House and the Senate, the results revealed something more: an expanding diversity in Congress members. This has been a recent trend in Congress—the last six Congresses have been named the most racially and ethnically diverse in history. The 118th Congress will be no different.
Likely the most high-profile win, Democrat Maura Healy handily won the Massachusetts governor race, defeatincg Republican Geoff Diehl with almost 70% of the vote. Not only did she become Massachusetts’ first female governor, she became the nation’s first openly lesbian governor and was soon joined by Democrat Tina Kotek, the governor-elect of Oregon.
Before this year’s midterm elections, no state ever elected women to serve as both governor and lieutenant governor simultaneously. Now, two have. Arkansas elected Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders for governor (who is also Arkansas’s first female governor) and Republican Leslie Rutledge. In Massachusetts, Democrat Kim Driscoll was elected as lieutenant governor, joining Democrat governor-elect Maura Healey.
25 years old and the winner of Florida’s 10th district, Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost will be the first Gen-Z member of Congress. Another member of Gen-Z, Republican Karoline Leavitt, lost her race in the 1st district of New Hampshire.
Democrat Robert Garcia is the first openly gay immigrant elected to Congress and won California’s 42nd district. Democrat Erick Russell, Connecticut’s next state treasurer, is the first openly gay Black person ever elected to any statewide executive office. Democrat James Roesener of New Hampshire is the first transgender man elected to state legislature.
This article is only covering national firsts, but there are many barrier-breakers at the state level as well. These leaders and many more are ushering in a future of more diverse political representation in the United States.
BY ATREYI BASU