A Massachusetts Democrat is the to the office of governor. In Maryland, voters elected the . Vermont will finally , after being the only state never to have had female representation in the House.
Across the country, women, LGBTQ and Black candidates broke barriers Tuesday as part of a new generation of politicians elected to governor's offices and seats in Congress.
The number of women serving as governors will hit double digits for the first time in 2023, with at least 12 women set to lead states. Ten had already won their races; two other races had not been decided but featured women candidates in both parties.
The U.S. has never had more than nine female governors in office at a time, a record set in 2004, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. The new record numbers mean nearly one fourth of the country's states will be run by women. The party majority for female governors is still not clear.
One of the winners, Maura Healey, is the first woman to be elected to Massachusetts鈥� top post and also makes history by becoming the country's first openly lesbian candidate to be elected governor.
鈥淭onight I want to say something to every little girl and every young LGBTQ person out there,鈥� Healey said to supporters at a downtown Boston hotel after her victory Tuesday night. 鈥淚 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 your own imagination and that鈥檚 not going to happen.鈥�
If Democrat Tina Kotek wins Oregon's gubernatorial race, where The Associated Press has not declared a winner, she may join Healey in making history as a lesbian candidate elected governor.
In Maryland, voters chose Democrat Wes Moore, who will be the state's first Black governor. He is only the third Black candidate in the country to be elected governor.
Moore, a combat veteran, led one of the nation鈥檚 largest anti-poverty organizations and campaigned on creating equal opportunity for his state residents. He flips a governor鈥檚 office from Republican to Democratic. The current Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is term limited.
Florida, meanwhile, is sending the first member of Gen Z to Congress, with the , a 25-year-old Black man with Cuban heritage.
Frost said that Gen Zers, those born from 1997 to 2012, are voting at higher levels, even though roughly half of the generation isn鈥檛 yet old enough. In an Associated Press interview, he praised President Biden鈥檚 focus on climate change and student debt cancelation.
Frost campaigned on gun control and Medicare for all and secured high-profile endorsements from progressive U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The seat had been left open when Val Demings decided to run for Senate, but Florida鈥檚 10th District, which includes the Orlando area, is reliably Democratic.
鈥淚鈥檓 just excited to work in Congress and advocate for these broad universal programs and things that will really, Number 1., help peoples鈥� day-to-day life, but also, Number 2, from a political standpoint, these things excite people because it shows folks that government can work," he told The Associated Press.
Also marking a first, Vermont, which elected its first female governor in the 1980s, had been the only state that had never sent a woman to Congress. Democrat Becca Balint, president of the Vermont Senate, will reach that milestone and also become the first openly gay person to fill the state鈥檚 single seat in the U.S. House.
Details on some other notable firsts:
鈥� ARKANSAS' 1ST FEMALE GOVERNOR
will become the first woman governor of Arkansas. Sanders, a Republican, rose to prominence when she served as White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump between 2017 and 2019. Her victory also makes her the first daughter of a former governor to fill the position held by her father. Mike Huckabee was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
Sanders faced Democrat Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer who would have become Arkansas鈥� first Black governor and who acknowledged the importance of Sanders' milestone.
鈥淗istory was made. Sarah鈥檚 election has shown women, including my little girls, that being a woman is no longer a barrier to becoming governor in our state," Jones said in a statement.
- Pennsylvania elects its first Black congresswoman
Democratic state representative Summer Lee鈥檚 victory in the state鈥檚 12th District makes her 鈥檚 first Black congresswoman. The Pittsburgh-based House seat was open after Mike Doyle announced his retirement.
鈥� ILLINOIS' 1ST LATINA CONGRESSWOMAN
Delia Ramirez, a Democrat, defeated Republican Justin Burau to represent Illinois鈥� 3rd District, in Chicago. Ramirez, 39, was the first Guatemalan American to serve in the Illinois General Assembly.
鈥� 1ST TRANS MAN ELECTED TO A STATE LEGISLATURE; OTHER TRANSGENDER LAWMAKERS
Democrat James Roesener was elected as a state representative to New Hampshire's 400-member House, becoming the first trans man elected to a state legislature, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Roesener, 26, said he wanted to run after a 鈥減arental rights鈥� bill was introduced in the House that would have required schools to notify parents of children developments, including with their gender identity and expression.
The bill didn鈥檛 pass, but it was by a slim margin. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really see that as a fight that鈥檚 over,鈥� he said.
In Minnesota, Leigh Finke became the first openly transgender person elected to the state鈥檚 Legislature. She told the AP on Wednesday that she decided to run after seeing growing anti-transgender sentiment across the country, saying she felt 鈥渨e have to have trans people in these rooms. If we are going to lose our rights, at least they have to look us in the eye when they do it.鈥�
Minnesota鈥檚 Legislature was divided at the time and she felt like she might be entering a 鈥減ressure cooker鈥� 鈥� but after Democrats took control on Tuesday, she now sees opportunity to pass laws to help the LGBTQ community.
Voters in western Montana elected the state鈥檚 first out transgender lawmaker, Zooey Zephyr, and SJ Howell, the first out nonbinary candidate to the state legislature, according to the LGBTQ Victory Fund. Both are Democrats and were elected in state House districts in Missoula County.
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Associated Press writers Steve Peoples in Washington, Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H., Amy Forliti in Minneapolis and Amy Hanson in Helena, Mont., contributed to this report.
Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press
