The historic firsts of the US 2022 midterm elections
A diverse representation
The 2022 midterm elections saw groundbreaking firsts for representation among women, young people, ethnic minorities and members of the LGBTQ community. These are some of the candidates who broke glass ceilings.
Maxwell Frost: first Gen Z Congress member
Florida Democrat Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a 25-year-old part-time Uber driver, declared that “history was made” when he became the first Generation Z member to win a seat in Congress.
Gun control activist
Frost is an activist against gun violence who supports progressive initiatives, such as the Green New Deal. He was backed by many leaders of the US left, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Summer Lee: first Black woman elected to Congress in Pennsylvania
Summer Lee became the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress after winning a House seat in the Pittsburgh area.
Pro-Israel lobby group against her
Lee faced millions of dollars in election ads against her, funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), who backed her opponents, both in the Democratic primary elections and in the generals.
Becca Balint: first gay woman elected to Congress in Vermont
Vermont elected its first woman and openly LGBTQ person to Congress as Democrat Becca Balint won the northeastern state’s at-large House seat.
Vermont: the last US state to send a woman to Congress
Vermont was the only US state that had not sent a woman to Congress. So come January, with Balint’s inauguration, all 50 US states will have been represented by women in Washington.
Left-wing policy supporter
Balint is a progressive who supports Medicare for all and other left-wing policies. Fellow Vermonter, Senator Sanders, supported her election bid.
Maura Healey: First lesbian governor in the US
Maura Healey became the first openly lesbian governor in the nation’s history and the first woman elected governor in Massachusetts.
Won by a large margin
Healey, who currently serves as attorney general in the state, won by a large margin against Republican Geoff Diehl (pictured).
Climate change, reproductive rights and criminal justice
She campaigned on making combating climate change a top priority, protecting reproductive rights and advancing criminal justice reform.
Wes Moore: first Black governor of Maryland
Wes Moore, an author and army veteran, was elected as the first Black governor of Maryland, defeating far-right Republican Dan Cox by a landslide.
Affordable healthcare and education
The incoming governor had never held public office before. He campaigned on raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, improving mass transit and making healthcare and early education more affordable.
Katie Britt: first female Senator from Alabama
Republican Katie Britt became the first woman to win a US Senate seat in Alabama, handily defeating Democratic opponent Will Boyd.
Photo: Twitter @KatieBrittforAL
Pro-Trump
Britt, who was backed by former President Donald Trump, will replace outgoing Senator Richard Shelby. She campaigned on an “Alabama First” slogan, echoing Trump’s “America first” motto.
Opposes abortion and supports gun rights
Britt opposes abortion and is an ardent supporter of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, saying that the people of Alabama have a “God-given right to bear arms”.
Photo: Twitter @KatieBrittforAL
Sarah Huckabee Sanders: first female governor of Arkansas
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as press secretary in Trump’s White House, was elected as the first woman governor of Arkansas, easily defeating Democrat Chris Jones.
Trump defender
Daughter of former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, she regularly clashed with reporters during her tenure at the White House as she pushed to defend Trump’s policies and statements.
Shri Thanedar: Michigan’s first Indian-American Congress member
Entrepreneur-turned-politician and Democrat Shri Thanedar became the first Indian American Congress member from the state of Michigan and the fourth overall.
The American dream’
Thanedar's win is inspirational, as he says he achieved ‘the American dream’. When he was young he had to work as a janitor to pay for his studies in Mumbai before migrating to the US in the 70s.
Photo: Twitter @ShriThanedar
Nabilah Islam: first Muslim woman elected to the State Senate in Georgia
The daughter of working-class immigrants from Bangladesh, Nabilah Islam, will be the first Muslim woman elected to Georgia’s state Senate.
Photo: Twitter @NabilahIslam
Advancing Democratic causes and values
Islam, a 32-year-old small business owner, describes herself on her website as “a lifelong fighter, organizer, and community advocate dedicated to advancing Democratic causes and values.”
Photo: Twitter @NabilahIslam
Zaynab Mohamed: youngest woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate
Zaynab Mohamed, a 25-year-old Somali immigrant, became the youngest woman and one of the first Black women elected to the Minnesota Senate.
Photo: Twitter @ZaynabForSenate
Helping immigrants and other minorities
Although she grew up with more opportunities than her parents and grandparents, their struggles made an impression on her at an early age and made her want to help other immigrants and minorities.
Photo: Twitter @ZaynabForSenate
Other notable firsts
Ruwa Romman (pictured), who is Palestinian American, was elected as the first Muslim woman in the Georgia State House of Representatives and in Iowa, Sami Scheetz was elected as the first Arab American to serve in the state’s legislature.
Photo: Twitter @Ruwa4Georgia
Democrat Black women
In Connecticut, Democrat Stephanie Thomas will become the first Black woman to serve as Secretary of State and Democrat, and Andrea Campbell (pictured) will become Massachusetts’s first Black female attorney general.
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