All eyes are on the US midterm results — the polls will define the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency.
As the results keep pouring in, victories are being celebrated by the Republicans and Democrats across the United States of America. However, there are some wins that are more special than others, as the candidates are making history.
Here are the candidates whose names will be penned down in record books after their wins in the 2022 midterms.
First Indian-American woman lieutenant governor
Aruna Miller has scripted history by becoming the first South Asian woman to be elected lieutenant governor of Maryland.
The 57-year-old Democrat was on the lieutenant governor ticket along with Wes Moore, who has also set a record by becoming Maryland’s first Black governor.
Born in Hyderabad, she went to the US at the age of seven, soon after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which lifted racial quotas and allowed her father to work in the country.
Miller since joining politics in the ’90s enjoyed bipartisan support in the midterms with several prominent Republicans raising money for her and speaking in her favour.
In her victory speech, she said, “Maryland, tonight you showed the nation what a small but mighty state can do when democracy is on the ballot. You chose unity over division, expanding rights over restricting rights, and hope over fear. You chose Wes Moore and me to be your next Governor and Lieutenant Governor.”
First openly lesbian governor
Maura Healey’s victory in the Massachusetts governor’s race will make her a ‘first’ in multiple ways.
Democrat Maura Healey, 51, defeated Republican Geoff Diehl, to become Massachusetts’s governor. AP
The Democrat — who is currently the state’s attorney general — will not only be the state’s first woman and first openly lesbian-elected governor, but will also be the first openly lesbian governor in US history.
Healey defeated Republican Geoff Diehl, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump. Her win also means an end to eight years of Republican leadership in the state.
“Tonight I want to say something to every little girl and every young LGBTQ person out there. I hope tonight shows you that you can be whatever, whoever you want to be and nothing and no one can ever get in your way except you own imagination and that’s not going to happen.” Healey said at her victory speech, adding, “I stand before you tonight proud to be the first woman and the first gay person ever elected governor of Massachusetts.”
Incidentally, Healey is also the first to snap the ‘curse of the attorney general’ in Massachusetts since 1958. The state has seen six former attorneys general sought the governor’s office and all of them have failed.
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Gen Z in the House
When one thinks of US House members, an image of an older-looking man is the standard. However, the 2022 midterm elections have thrown up a surprise — the victory of 25-year-old Maxwell Alejandro Frost from Florida.
Maxwell Frost dances with supporters during a party at The Abbey in Orlando, Florida. AP
Frost’s win makes him the first member of Generation Z to reach the House of Representatives.
A community organiser, Frost will now stand out among his soon-to-be peers in the halls of Congress where the average age of House members is 58.
He will also be the first Afro-Cuban person in Congress as well, adding to the diversity of a body that is still more than 75 per cent white.
Frost’s triumph was not an unexpected one, with his campaign focusing on gun violence, climate change, abortion rights and expanded healthcare, which appealed to younger voters.
Woman power in Arkansas
Former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders also scripted history by becoming Arkansas’ first female governor.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is no stranger to the Arkansas governor’s mansion. She has lived there while her father Mike Sanders held the post from 1996 to 2007. AP
She won against her Democratic rival Chris Jones in the predominantly Republican state and succeeds fellow Republican Asa Hutchinson.
Sanders won’t be any stranger to the governor’s mansion, as her father Mike Sanders held the post from 1996 to 2007.
Interestingly, Sanders broke the Arkansas gubernatorial fundraising record by raising over $9 million and regularly promised to use the office to fight President Joe Biden and the “radical left”.
Trans-forming the US state legislature
US politics is more or less considered conservative. However, on Election Day, history was made when James Roesener won the race for New Hampshire’s 22nd state House District, Ward 8.
Roesener, the 26-year-old Democrat, is now the first out trans man to win election to a state legislature in US history.
Roesener, who identifies as bisexual and lives in Concord with his wife and cat, has said in his biography that he’s never been afraid to stand up for what he believes in.
Call me Senator Katie
Katie Britt greets young people in the audience at her election-night watch party in Montgomery, Alabama. Britt won the US Senate race in Alabama. AP
Republican Katie Britt became the first woman elected to the US Senate from Alabama. Previously, two women represented the state in the Senate as appointees.
An attorney and businesswoman, Britt also served as chief of staff to sitting Alabama Senator Richard Shelby and will take over his seat.
Britt has said she’ll prioritise policy aimed at reducing the national debt, back abortion restrictions, and embody a new generation of leadership while in the role.
First Native American senator
Republican Markwayne Mullin will be the first Native American senator from Oklahoma in almost 100 years, winning the special election to succeed Senator Jim Inhofe.
Republican Markwayne Mullin (left) will be the first Native American senator from Oklahoma in almost 100 years. AP
A citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Mullin was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and became part of the Congressional Native American Caucus.
New York stands with women
Democrat Kathy Hochul won the New York gubernatorial race, becoming the first woman to hold the state’s highest office.
Democrat Kathy Hochul won the New York gubernatorial race, defeating Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, an ally of Donald Trump. AP
She defeated Republican congressman Lee Zeldin, an ally of Donald Trump who ran a campaign focused on fear of violent crime. Hochul took office in August 2021 after former Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.
In her victory speech, she told supporters, “Tonight you made your voices heard loud and clear. And, and you made me the first woman ever elected to be the governor of the state of New York. But I’m not here to make history, I’m here to make a difference.
“I have felt a weight on my shoulders to make sure that every little girl and all the women of the state who’ve had to bang up against glass ceilings everywhere they turn, to know that a woman could be elected in her own right and successfully govern a state as rough and tumble as New York.”
During her campaign, the 64-year-old raised a record $50 million in little over a year and was buoyed by broad support from all corners of New York’s Democratic party.
With inputs from agencies
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