From coast to coast it was also a night of firsts for women, particularly women of color. For the first time in the nation’s history there will be more than 100 women in the U.S. House of Representatives. Among them were Deb Haaland in New Mexico and Sharice Davids in Kansas, who made history by becoming the nation’s first Native American congresswomen. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Ilhan Omar in Minnesota became the first Muslim women elected to Congress. In New York City, 29-year-old Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “We were able to organize everyday people, knocking on our neighbors’ door. And despite being outspent $4 million, 18 or 13 to one; despite the fact that we were running against a 10-term incumbent; despite the fact that it was your first time running for office; despite the fact that we didn’t have the money; despite the fact that I’m working-class—despite all those things, we won.”
History was also made in New England, where two states elected their first African-American congresswomen: Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts and Jahana Hayes in Connecticut. And in in Texas, Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia have became the state’s first two Latina congresswomen.