*A Night Of Firsts: The Candidates Who Made History In The 2018 Midterms
The Guardian, Nov. 7. 2018. Candidates who made history in the 2018 midterms. Diverse candidates are hoping to break barriers across the country. - Here are the key wins so far.
Groundbreaking campaigns have broken barriers this election, with historic candidates changing the face of Congress and statehouses across the US. Women have run in record numbers, and Native Americans, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, millennials and LGBT candidates have already made history with their campaigns.
- Ayanna Pressley, first black House member from Massachusetts.
Here are the key trailblazing candidates who are diversifying American politics and have already won their races so far. We will continue updating throughout the night as more results come in.
*Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, youngest woman elected to Congress. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise victory in the June congressional primary in New York shook up Washington and the Democratic party. The progressive challenger and member of the Democratic socialist party unseated a powerful 10-term New York congressman, running with a campaign ad that said: “Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office.”
Now age 29, she has become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Elise Stefanik previously held the record when she was elected to Congress at age 30 in 2014. Ocasio-Cortez is the daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and a Bronx-born father and grew up in a working-class community. She ran a grassroots campaign that took on the “Queens Democratic party machine” and championed progressive proposals, such as the abolition of the Immigration Customs Enforcement (Ice), a single-payer healthcare plan and tuition-free college.
*Ayanna Pressley, first black House member from Massachusetts. Pressley was the first black woman to serve on Boston’s city council and made history again after defeating the 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano in the primary. She did not face a challenger in the general election, making her the first black member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
In her victory speech in September, she said: “These times demanded more from our leaders and from our party. These times demanded an approach to governing that was bold, uncompromising and unafraid. It’s not just good enough to see the Democrats back in power but it matters who those Democrats are.”
*Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, first Muslim congresswomen...
Read More, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/06/midterms-2018-first-history-making-election-wins
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