The 2026 US midterm elections have rewritten several chapters of American political history. From the first Muslim elected to the Senate to the first Black woman elected governor of a US state, victories across the country have changed who can occupy some of its highest offices.
The new American Congress and the governors’ offices will look different because of the elections held on 3 November.
Some of the changes represent milestones never achieved in the United States. Others end periods of political exclusion or single-party electoral dominance lasting decades.
The first Muslim elected to the US Senate. The first Black woman elected governor of an American state. The first Latina elected governor of Texas. The first Native American woman elected governor. The first Native American woman elected to the Senate.
These are distinct historical developments, affecting different offices and institutions.
For this edition, media-projected victories are reported as projected victories.
The 2026 historic-firsts scorecard
America’s election of firsts
Explore 13 selected historic milestones. Filter by elected office or party; tap a candidate to see the distinction and evidence. Projected winners, not certified results.
Select a milestone to see its exact historical meaning and source.
Full underlying data (accessible text table)
| State | Candidate | Office | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Abdul El-Sayed | Senate | First Muslim elected to the US Senate |
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms | Governor | First Black woman elected governor of a US state |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa | Governor | First Latina elected governor of Texas |
| New Mexico | Deb Haaland | Governor | First Native American woman elected state governor |
| Minnesota | Peggy Flanagan | Senate | First Native American woman elected US senator |
| New Hampshire | Chris Pappas | Senate | First openly gay man elected US senator |
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar | Governor | First woman elected governor of Minnesota |
| Ohio | Amy Acton | Governor | First woman elected governor of Ohio |
| South Carolina | Annie Andrews | Senate | First woman elected (rather than appointed) US senator from South Carolina |
| Florida | Byron Donalds | Governor | First Black person elected governor of Florida |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford | Governor | First Black person elected governor of Nevada |
| Wisconsin | David Crowley | Governor | First Black person elected governor of Wisconsin |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn | Governor | First woman elected governor of Tennessee |
Evidence: dated US media projections, cross-checked with state authorities where returns are available. This is a selected set, not an exhaustive list of every 2026 first. AP historic-firsts review · Minnesota Secretary of State.
Historical Milestones
| State | Candidate | Party | Historical milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Abdul El-Sayed | D | First Muslim elected to US Senate |
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms | D | First Black woman elected governor of a US state |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa | D | First Latina elected Texas governor |
| New Mexico | Deb Haaland | D | First Native American woman elected governor |
| Minnesota | Peggy Flanagan | D | First Native American woman elected US senator |
| New Hampshire | Chris Pappas | D | First openly gay man elected US senator |
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar | D | First woman elected Minnesota governor |
| Ohio | Amy Acton | D | First woman elected Ohio governor |
| South Carolina | Annie Andrews | D | First woman elected US senator from the state |
| Florida | Byron Donalds | R | First Black person elected Florida governor |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford | D | First Black person elected Nevada governor |
| Wisconsin | David Crowley | D | First Black person elected Wisconsin governor |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn | R | First woman elected Tennessee governor |
Projected election outcomes as reported on 3–4 November 2026. Historical distinctions cross-checked against state records, congressional history, election reporting and the Center for American Women and Politics.
The table reveals more than a series of individual candidacies.
The milestones fall into three broad categories: representation in national institutions, historic access to state executive authority, and electoral changes in places where previous results had created long-standing political patterns.
The Senate’s first Muslim member: Abdul El-Sayed
Michigan has provided one of the most consequential firsts of the election.
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was projected to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters.
The result makes El-Sayed the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate.
He had previously served as Detroit’s health director and contested Michigan’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2018.
The historical significance is institutional. Muslim Americans have served in the House of Representatives, but none had previously been elected to the Senate.
The chamber has 100 members, with two senators representing each state regardless of population. Entry into that institution therefore represents a different form of representation from winning one of the House’s population-based districts.
Michigan Senate: election-night count
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul El-Sayed (D) | 2,432,101 | 52.43% |
| Mike Rogers (R) | 2,113,480 | 45.56% |
| Other candidates | — | Remaining share |
Decision Desk HQ results snapshot, 4 November 2026, 5:20 AM Eastern.
The two leading candidates were separated by 318,621 votes in the reported count.
This was a competitive election involving more than identity. It was fought over healthcare, the economy, foreign policy and the direction of national politics.
Its outcome establishes a historical first without implying that Muslim voters constitute a single political group or that religious identification determines electoral support.
Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms and a milestone without precedent
The contest for Georgia’s governorship produced a historical first that extends beyond state boundaries.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms was projected to defeat Republican Rick Jackson, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any US state.
She will also be Georgia’s first woman governor and first Black governor when she assumes office.
The state has a long history of African-American political participation, including prominent roles in the civil rights movement. Yet that participation had never previously resulted in the election of a Black woman as governor.
Bottoms previously served as Atlanta’s mayor between 2018 and 2022 and later held positions in the federal administration under President Joe Biden.
Her victory ended more than two decades of Republican control of Georgia’s governor’s office.
There is an important historical distinction here.
Black women have held prominent offices throughout American government, including congressional, judicial and executive positions. Bottoms’s first concerns the governorship of a US state. It is not a claim that Black women had never previously held executive office elsewhere in the country.
Why Georgia matters
The election produced two simultaneous changes.
One concerns representation: the first Black woman elected to a state’s highest executive office.
The other concerns party control: Georgia’s governorship changing from Republican to Democratic leadership.
These developments are connected by the election result but remain analytically distinct.
An individual’s historic identity milestone does not, by itself, establish the reasons voters supported that candidate.
New Mexico and Minnesota: two Native American firsts
The 2026 elections also produced two different milestones involving Native American women.
Deb Haaland — New Mexico
First Native American woman projected elected governor of a US state.
Peggy Flanagan — Minnesota
First Native American woman projected elected to the US Senate.
Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, was projected to defeat Republican Gregg Hull in New Mexico’s gubernatorial election.
Haaland had already participated in two significant milestones before 2026. In 2018, she was among the first Native American women elected to Congress. In 2021, she became the first Native American to serve as a US Cabinet secretary, heading the Department of the Interior.
Her gubernatorial victory represents a further development: the election of a Native American woman as the chief executive of a state.
Minnesota’s Peggy Flanagan achieved a different first.
A citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan was projected to defeat Republican Michele Tafoya for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Tina Smith.
Her election establishes the first victory by a Native American woman for the US Senate.
Minnesota’s official numbers
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
| Peggy Flanagan (D) | 1,520,295 | 53.71% |
| Michele Tafoya (R) | 1,232,677 | 43.55% |
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State, unofficial statewide returns, 4 November 2026, 9:08 AM Eastern. All 4,105 precincts reporting.
Flanagan led by 287,618 votes in the published count.
The New Mexico and Minnesota results illustrate why historical firsts should be defined by the institution involved.
A gubernatorial election and a Senate election confer different responsibilities. They should not be conflated under a generic description of Native American political success.
Texas: Gina Hinojosa and the first Latina governorship
Texas produced one of the election’s most prominent statewide changes.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa was projected to defeat three-term Republican Governor Greg Abbott, becoming the first Latina elected governor of Texas.
Hinojosa’s victory also marked the first Democratic gubernatorial election win in the state since Ann Richards won in 1990.
That is a 36-year interval between Democratic electoral victories.
The historical comparison does not mean Republicans held the governorship for all 36 years. Richards remained in office until January 1995. The period of Republican control began after her departure.
The distinction matters when describing decades of party dominance.
Hinojosa’s election combines a representation milestone with a party-political reversal. The former concerns her place in Texas’s executive history. The latter concerns the electorate’s decision to change the party controlling the governor’s office.
The outcome is especially notable in a state with a substantial Hispanic population.
Where the firsts happened
12 highlighted states contain 13 selected projected milestones. Select any state for candidate details. Grey means no entry in this selection — not that the state had no historic result.
Hover, tap or use the state selector.
Selected states and milestones
| State | Candidate | Office |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Abdul El-Sayed | Senate |
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms | Governor |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa | Governor |
| New Mexico | Deb Haaland | Governor |
| Minnesota | Peggy Flanagan | Senate |
| New Hampshire | Chris Pappas | Senate |
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar | Governor |
| Ohio | Amy Acton | Governor |
| South Carolina | Annie Andrews | Senate |
| Florida | Byron Donalds | Governor |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford | Governor |
| Wisconsin | David Crowley | Governor |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn | Governor |
Results are projections, 4 Nov 2026 snapshot. The state outlines derive from boundary material distributed with basemap_data 2.0 (LGPL-3.0-or-later); retain the supplied licence notices with the deployment. Election sources: US election firsts reporting and Minnesota elections.
Women entering new executive territory
Four gubernatorial results show the range of the 2026 breakthroughs.
| State | Projected winner | First achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | Amy Klobuchar (D) | First woman elected governor |
| Ohio | Amy Acton (D) | First woman elected governor |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn (R) | First woman elected governor |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa (D) | First Latina elected governor |
Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar wins the governorship
Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar was projected to defeat Republican Lisa Demuth.
Klobuchar will become Minnesota’s first woman governor, succeeding Tim Walz.
The state election authority reported:
| Candidate / ticket | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Amy Klobuchar–Ben Schierer (D) | 1,569,094 | 55.47% |
| Lisa Demuth–Ryan Wilson (R) | 1,205,788 | 42.63% |
Official state election-night portal; unofficial results, all precincts reporting.
Klobuchar’s reported lead was 363,306 votes.
Her transition from the US Senate to a state governorship also demonstrates a movement between federal legislative and state executive institutions.
Minnesota: two offices, two firsts
Switch between the US Senate and governor’s race. Every vote and percentage comes from Minnesota’s own unofficial results, not a media graphic.
Bars show share of all votes, not a two-party-only denominator.
Full official count (selected major candidates)
| Office | Candidate | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Peggy Flanagan | 1,520,295 | 53.71% |
| Senate | Michele Tafoya | 1,232,677 | 43.55% |
| Governor | Amy Klobuchar | 1,569,094 | 55.47% |
| Governor | Lisa Demuth | 1,205,788 | 42.63% |
Minor candidates, write-ins and additional votes are excluded from this short comparison but included in official percentages.
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State — unofficial 3 Nov 2026 statewide returns; 87/87 counties and 4,105/4,105 precincts reported on the reviewed snapshot. Results remain subject to certification.
Ohio: the difference between serving and being elected
Amy Acton’s projected victory over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy makes her the first woman elected governor of Ohio.
That is a carefully defined distinction.
Ohio previously had a woman governor: Nancy Hollister, who served briefly through succession between December 1998 and January 1999.
Acton therefore is not the first woman ever to exercise the state’s gubernatorial powers. She is the first woman to win that office through a statewide election.
Tennessee: a Republican first
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn was projected to defeat Democrat Jerri Green in Tennessee.
She becomes the state’s first woman elected governor.
The result is an important reminder that the 2026 representation milestones were not confined to the Democratic Party.
Blackburn’s election demonstrates a barrier being broken in a state where Republicans retained the governorship.
She won without securing an absolute majority of votes, according to the state’s unofficial returns, because the contest also included independent candidates.
South Carolina: Annie Andrews and an electoral distinction
Democrat Annie Andrews was projected to defeat Republican Senator Darline Graham.
Andrews will become the first woman elected by South Carolina voters to the US Senate.
But she will not be the first woman ever to represent the state in that chamber.
Darline Graham had already become South Carolina’s first woman senator when Governor Henry McMaster appointed her in July 2026 to fill the vacancy created by Lindsey Graham’s death.
The earlier appointment is recorded in the Congressional Record.
This distinction is essential to accurate election history.
Appointment and election are two different routes to office. The 2026 milestone belongs specifically to the latter.
Chris Pappas: the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate
New Hampshire produced another milestone in the Senate.
Democrat Chris Pappas was projected to defeat former Republican Senator John E. Sununu.
Pappas becomes the first openly gay man elected to the upper chamber of Congress.
The wording matters.
He is not the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to the Senate. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin became the first openly gay person elected to that chamber in 2012.
Pappas’s milestone concerns the first openly gay man to win a Senate seat.
He had represented New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District since January 2019, making the 2026 result a move from the House to the Senate.
The distinction between the House and Senate is significant. Senators represent entire states, whereas House members represent congressional districts.
Black governors: three more state-level milestones
The gubernatorial elections in Florida, Nevada and Wisconsin produced three separate breakthroughs.
| State | Projected winner | Historic first |
| Florida | Byron Donalds (R) | First Black governor |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford (D) | First Black governor |
| Wisconsin | David Crowley (D) | First Black governor |
Projected outcomes, 3–4 November 2026.
Republican Byron Donalds was projected to defeat Democrat David Jolly in Florida, succeeding term-limited Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.
His victory represents Florida’s first election of a Black governor.
In Nevada, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford was projected to defeat Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, becoming the state’s first Black governor.
Wisconsin’s David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, was projected to defeat Republican Tom Tiffany, becoming the first Black governor in the state’s history.
The three victories also demonstrate that representation milestones can emerge from different electoral circumstances.
Donalds’ election retains Republican control of Florida’s governorship.
Ford’s election changes the party controlling Nevada’s governorship.
Crowley’s victory continues Democratic control of Wisconsin’s governor’s office under a new leader.
The same representation milestone therefore does not necessarily imply the same party-political outcome.
The other history: political barriers lasting decades
Not every historic first concerns race, religion, gender or personal identity.
Some concern electoral patterns that have endured for generations.
Kansas and Iowa illustrate this different form of political history.
Kansas: a 94-year Senate barrier breaks
Democrat Adam Hamilton was projected to defeat Republican incumbent Roger Marshall.
Hamilton becomes the first Democrat elected to a US Senate seat from Kansas since 1932.
The 94-year interval is one of the most striking historical comparisons from the midterms.
More importantly, the result is now supported by an independently accessible state election count.
Kansas | US Senate | 2026 unofficial returns
| Candidate | Votes | Share |
| Adam Hamilton (D) | 556,414 | 50.93% |
| Roger Marshall (R) | 503,230 | 46.06% |
| David C. Graham (L) | 32,934 | 3.01% |
Source: Kansas Secretary of State, unofficial results. All 4,168 precincts reported. Percentages recalculated from 1,092,578 total votes and rounded to two decimal places.
Hamilton’s lead over Marshall was 53,184 votes in the posted count.
Iowa: a Democratic governor after 20 years
Democrat Rob Sand was projected to defeat Republican Zach Lahn, becoming the first Democrat elected Iowa governor since Chet Culver in 2006.
Sand had served as Iowa’s state auditor.
The previous Democratic gubernatorial victory was two decades earlier. Republicans had held the office since 2011, following Culver’s defeat in 2010.
Five long historical intervals, compared
The long electoral gaps
Five intervals between victories for the same party and office. Tap a bar to compare the dates. These are not the durations of uninterrupted party control.
Underlying data and calculations
| State | Office | Previous D win | 2026 D win | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | US Senate | 1932 | 2026 | 94 years |
| Texas | US Senate | 1988 | 2026 | 38 years |
| Texas | Governor | 1990 | 2026 | 36 years |
| South Carolina | US Senate | 1998 | 2026 | 28 years |
| Iowa | Governor | 2006 | 2026 | 20 years |
Original nine145 arithmetic from year of previous party election victory to 2026. Sources include Kansas historical comparison, South Carolina and Iowa.
The longest interval is Kansas’s 94 years without a Democratic Senate victory. But the chart is not a ranking of the importance of the election results.
Each contest involves different electoral boundaries, candidates, political history and institutions.
What the comparison demonstrates is the varied historical scale of the outcomes.
Two possible firsts that have not happened yet
The 2026 results also create the conditions for two additional milestones.
Alaska: Mary Peltola’s unfinished Senate contest
Democrat Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik, contested Alaska’s Senate election against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan.
Peltola became the first Alaska Native elected to the US House in 2022.
If she wins the Senate contest, she would become the first Alaska Native elected to that chamber.
However, the race had not been called in.
An election-night count showed Sullivan narrowly ahead, with a significant number of ballots outstanding and Alaska’s ranked-choice voting process potentially still relevant.
Peggy Flanagan’s projected Minnesota victory has already established the separate first for Native American women elected to the Senate.
Hakeem Jeffries: the Speaker milestone awaits a House vote
The projected Democratic House majority creates the possibility of another historic first.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, could become the first Black Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
But that milestone has not yet occurred.
The Speaker is not automatically installed when a political party wins a projected majority.
Under the House’s established procedures, Representatives-elect must choose a Speaker by vote when the new Congress convenes.
The 120th Congress is scheduled to begin on 3 January 2027.
What the 2026 results tell us about representation
These historic outcomes can be understood at three levels.
Representation within institutions. The Senate and governorships are gaining officeholders from groups that had not previously been elected to those particular positions. The milestones concern the institutions themselves, not a claim that the groups had lacked all political representation before 2026.
Changes in electoral opportunity. The victories demonstrate that longstanding patterns of representation are not permanent. But they do not, without further evidence, establish that the social and political obstacles experienced by other candidates have disappeared.
The distinction between electoral history and electoral realignment. Kansas, Texas and Iowa demonstrate changes in patterns of party success. One election establishes that a pattern has ended. Repeated elections are needed to determine whether a durable realignment has begun.
There is also a broader point.
The 2026 firsts were not confined to one party. Democrats account for most of the milestones examined here, but Republicans also achieved historic representation victories in Florida and Tennessee.
The election can therefore be understood as a combination of changing party control and changes in representation across American institutions.
The nine145 reading
America’s 2026 midterms have created a new set of historical benchmarks.
For some candidates, the record concerns identity and entry into an institution that had never previously elected a person from a particular group.
For others, it concerns the ability of a political party to win an office after decades without success.
The two types of history are different.
The first describes the composition of institutions. The second describes changing electoral competition.
What unites them is a simple democratic principle: an electoral pattern, however longstanding, remains subject to the next election.
The historical significance of November 2026 is already visible in the projected results.
Its longer-term political significance will require evidence from the election cycles that follow.
