In 2016, many of us thought America would have another historical election on our hands. When Hillary Clinton didn’t win the race for President, many were left feeling angry and ready to stand up against whatever hate was about to come our way. That’s exactly what happened this Tuesday. Not only was it a big win for Democrats, as they took back seats in state and local legislature, but also for the LGBTQA+ and other minority communities.
Here are some of the historic election results from this Tuesday:
Danica Roem Virginia’s first openly transwoman to take a seat in the state legislature. She won the seat from the Republican who had introduced the anti-trans “bathroom bill.”
Justin Fairfax won the Lt. Governor position in Virginia becoming the first African-American Lt. Governor for Virginia and the second African-American to win a statewide position.
Kathy Tran became the first Asian-American woman to be elected into Virginia’s House of Delegates. She came to America as a Vietnamese refugee.
Elizabeth Guzman and Hala Ayala beat Republican incumbents to become the first Latina women in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Andrea Jenkins is the first openly African-American transwoman elected into a city council position in a major U.S. city. She will be taking a seat in the Minneapolis City Council.
Melvin Carter was voted Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota and became their first African-American Mayor.
Sheila Oliver was elected the first female African-American Lt. Governor in the state of New Jersey.
Ravinder Bhalla was selected by Hoboken to become their and the country’s first Sikh American Mayor.
Vi Lyles became Charlotte, North Carolina’s first African-American female mayor.
Brendon Barber was elected Georgetown, South Carolina’s first ever African-American Mayor. He has been on the city council since 1998.
Yvonne Spicer was elected the first mayor of Framingham, MA after the ‘town’ voted to become a city – meaning a change for their governance.
Joyce Craig will be Manchester, New Hampshire’s first female Mayor.
Janet Diaz was selected by the people of Lancaster, Pennsylvania to be their first Latina member of city council.
Tyler Titus will sit on the Erie School Board in Erie, Pennsylvania as the first openly transgender person to be elected on the board and in the state.
Wilmot Collins, a former Liberian refugee, will be Helena, Montana’s second African-American Mayor and the first in their history to be a former refugee.
Jenny Durkan is making and repeating history. She will be Seattle’s first-out lesbian Mayor and the city’s second female Mayor.
Jonathan McCollar is the first African-American to be voted into the office of Mayor of Statesboro, Georgia.
Mary Parham Copelan was voted Milledgeville, Georgia’s, first female African-American Mayor. She beat the incumbent by six votes!
Booker Gainor is the first African-American to be elected Mayor in Cairo, Georgia. He is only 27!
Cathy Murillo will be the first Latina mayor of Santa Barbara, California.
Lisa Middleton will join Palm Spring, California’s city council and become the first openly transgender person to be elected to a non-judicial office in California.
Laura Curran will take on the role of county executive for New York’s Nassau County as the position’s first woman.
Mazahir Salih was elected to the Iowa City Council and became the first Sudanese-American to sit on the council.