Here are some of the candidates who made history on Election Day
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History was made across the country on Election Day with newly-elected candidates becoming pioneers in Congress. From Maryland’s first Black governor, to the first openly lesbian governor in the country, to the first Gen Z Democrat elected to Congress, here is a list of Election Day history makers.
1. Wes Moore
Moore, projected to be Maryland’s new governor-elect, will become the state’s first Black governor. The Democrat is also just the third Black man to be elected governor in U.S. history after Douglas Wilder was elected Virginia governor in 1989 and Deval Patrick was elected Massachusetts governor in 2006. Other Black men have served as governor in various states, but they assumed the office after their governor resigned.
2. Maura Healey
Maura Healey made history in two ways. She is projected to win Massachusetts gubernatorial race, making her the first woman elected as the state’s governor and the first openly lesbian governor in U.S. history. The Democrat was the first openly gay attorney general elected in the country in 2014.
3. Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders is projected to win the Arkansas gubernatorial race, making her the first woman elected governor in that state. She is also one of the most high-profile former Trump administration officials to win election, serving as White House press secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Her father, Mike Huckabee, also served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
4. Maxwell Frost
Democrat Maxwell Frost is projected to win Florida’s 10th Congressional District race, making him the first Democratic member of Congress from Gen Z and the first Afro-Cubano to head to Congress.