This past election cycle saw a huge uptick in women who made history at the polls. From major firsts like the first openly bisexual person elected to the U.S. Senate, to the youngest members elected to Congress, here are 12 women who made history in the 2018 election, in order of their political position.
U.S. Senate
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Kyrsten Sinema
Kyrsten Sinema is the first openly bisexual member of the Senate. Sinema represents Arizona, flipping the seat formerly held by Republicans for 30 years. She was also the first openly bisexual member of the House of Representatives.
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Marsha Blackburn
Marsha Blackburn is the first female Senator elected from Tennessee. A Republican, Blackburn was a former representative from Tennessee’s seventh district.
U.S. House of Representatives
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Sharice Davids
Sharice Davids is one of the first ever Native American women elected to Congress. A Democrat, Davids flipped the Republican-held seat in Kansas’ third district. Davids is also the first openly LGBT Congress member from Kansas, and a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
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Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland is also one of the first ever Native American women elected to Congress. Haaland is a Democrat, who represents New Mexico’s first district. She is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna.
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Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Omar is the first Somali-American women elected to Congress. Omar, a Democrat, represents Minnesota’s fifth district. She is also one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, as well as the first woman of color elected from Minnesota.
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Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress. A Democrat, Tlaib represents Michigan’s 13th district. She is also one of the first Muslim women
elected to Congress.
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Abby Finkenaur
Abby Finkenaur is one of the youngest people elected to Congress. At 29, Finkenaur now represents Iowa’s first district. A Democrat, Finkenaur is also one of the first women elected to the House of Representatives from Iowa.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the youngest people elected to Congress. The 29-year-old Democrat represents New York’s 14th district.
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Cindy Axne
Cindy Axne is one of the first women elected to the House of Representatives from Iowa. A Democrat, Axne represents Iowa’s third district.
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Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna Pressley is the first black woman from Massachusetts elected to Congress. A Democrat, Pressley represents Massachusetts’ seventh district. Pressley was also the first woman to serve on the Boston City Council in 2010.
Governor
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Janet Mills
Janet Mills is the first woman elected governor of Maine. A Democrat, Mills was the former Attorney General of Maine.
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Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem is the first woman elected governor of South Dakota. Noem, a Republican, was the former House Representative for South Dakota’s at-large seat. An at-large seat basically means that one person is the representative in the House of Representatives for the whole state.