Two Black women have been elected as US senators and a transgender person has been elected into the House of Representatives – historic firsts for the US.
There has never been more than one Black woman serving as a US senator at once, and there has never been an openly transgender person elected to the US House.
First time the US will have two Black women serving as senators
Democrats Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks will be the first Black women to serve as senators at the same time, after winning seats in Delaware and Maryland respectively.
Only three other Black women have ever served in the Senate, all at different times, but now Rochester and Alsobrooks will join Laphonza Butler and make history as the first three Black women to serve together.
Both women are members of the Democratic party and will be entering into a Senate that has been taken over by the Republicans following the results of the US election.
Lisa Blunt Rochester is both the first woman and the first Black person to represent Delaware in Congress, after defeating Republican nominee Eric Hansen.
Angela Alsobrooks is the first Black senator from Maryland, beating former Republican Governor Larry Hogan.
Speaking on X, Alsobrooks said: “From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every Marylander. To serve this state, my home, is the honor of a lifetime.”
From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every Marylander. To serve this state, my home, is the honor of a lifetime. pic.twitter.com/zbWLnvf8EM
— Angela Alsobrooks (@AlsobrooksForMD) November 6, 2024
First trans person elected to US House
In another first for Delaware, Democrat Sarah McBride is the first openly trans person to be elected into the House of Representatives after beating a Republican ex-police officer in the race.
McBride, who is a Delaware state senator, beat Republican candidate John Whalen III to become the senator for Delaware’s only House seat – which has been Democratic since 2010.
She became the first trans person elected as a state senator in 2020, was the first trans person to intern at the White House in 2016 under Barack Obama, and was the first trans person to speak at a US national political party convention in 2016.
McBride passed the Healthy Delaware Families Act in 2022, which established paid family and medical leave.
After the win, McBride posted on X: “Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress.
“Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and health care are available to everyone and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us.”
Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress.
— Sen. Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) November 6, 2024
Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our… pic.twitter.com/QgwRkpUlbD
Featured image: Courtesy of Gotta Be Worth It on Pexels.com
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