These women made historic wins in the 2018 midterm elections

The 2018 midterm elections proved to be especially momentous for women in politics. Here are some of the women who made history last night.

This year, historic numbers of women won races in the 2018 midterm elections. 10 women in the Senate and 92 in the House will be heading to Congress in the new year. Of course, women are still represented at a smaller ratio to men than vice versa, compared to the overall number of women and men in the United States.

Even then, it is hard to deny the importance of this election for American women who ran for office. Here are some of the historic wins of the night.

Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar

In Michigan, former member of the Michigan House of Representatives and lawyer Rashida Tlaib won her race for the state’s 13th congressional district. Ilhan Omar, meanwhile, will represent Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. Both made history as the first Muslim women elected to office in the United States. Given historical pushback against women in office and Muslim Americans, these elections are both major steps forward.

Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids

Election night also brought historic wins for Native American women. Deb Haaland will represent New Mexico’s 1st congressional district. Sharice Davids, who also happens to be an out lesbian and a former MMA fighter, won her race for Kansas’ 3rd congressional district.

Ayanna Pressley

In Massachusetts, Ayanna Pressley is set to become the first black woman to represent the state. Pressley ran unopposed, meaning that her election was one of the easiest of the night. That doesn’t take away from the importance of her future as a Representative for the state’s 7th congressional district. She joins other women of color in making historic firsts in representation and election wins in 2018.

Kristi Noem

In gubernatorial races, women also made significant strides. Republican Kristi Noem will become the first woman to lead the state of South Dakota. Stacey Abrams, who has not yet conceded to Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor’s race, has, if nothing else, come significantly close to defeating her challenger.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fairly walloped her opponents in the race for New York’s 14th district. She made waves earlier in the election cycle for winning the Democratic party nomination, despite her socialist politics, which some thought would be a hindrance. Instead, her views seem to have energized voters, who gave her 78 percent of the district’s vote. Ocasio-Cortez will also become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, at 29 years old.

Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia

Though Texas Republicans held on to some of their spots, like in the close race between incumbent Senator Ted Cruz and challenger Beto O’Rourke, other races went to Democrats. Both Veronica Escobar (Texas’ 16th district) and Sylvia Garcia (Texas’ 29th district) will be the first Latinas to represent their state in Congress.

Kyrsten Sinema, Martha McSally and Marsha Blackburn

In Tennessee, Republican Marsha Blackburn will be the first woman to represent her state in the Senate. Farther west, in Arizona, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally are locked in a currently too-close-to-call election. Regardless of who wins, Arizona will be represented by a female Senator for the first time in its history.

Culturess congratulates all of these historic wins for women, and we hope to see this momentum continue on!