10 of the most inspirational political events of 2018

5. Democrats take wins in 2018 election

Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections in the United States, there was much speculation about Democrats’ chances. Historically speaking, it is pretty common for the opposition party (that is, compared to the one that supports the sitting President) to make noticeable wins during midterms. Then again, the two years since the rather shocking election night win of Donald Trump have shown, again and again, that assumptions can lead you down the wrong path.

In what feels like an increasingly unpredictable political world, the business of making predictions has turned out to be precarious. It could be, argued some commentators, that Democrats could still face big losses in a divisive election.

As it turns out, however, Democratic politicians made some serious wins this November. Democrats won governorships, seats in state legislatures, and federal offices in significant quantities. While Democrats did lose two Senate seats, they picked up a considerable majority in the House of Representatives.

In this election, Democrats also won office in one of the most diverse elections in U.S. history. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women to win federal office and will represent their states in the House in January. In Colorado, Jared Polis became the first openly gay man elected to be governor of a state. In Arizona, a woman was guaranteed to represent her state in the Senate for the first time ever: Kyrsten Sinema, the Democratic candidate, won with a razor-thin margin over Republican Martha McSally.

As of January 2019, Democrats will take up 235 seats (54.1 percent) in the House, compared to 199 (45.9 percent) held by Republicans. There are no independent politicians who can vote in the House, though two hold office in the Senate.