Women and LGBT Candidates Receive Historic Wins in Record Numbers

A+rainbow+over+the+United+States+Capitol+Building+on+election+day.+

JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS

A rainbow over the United States Capitol Building on election day.

Matty Mendez, Reporter

Though it was not the blue wave many Democrats had envisioned, Tuesday’s midterm elections were a monumental success for women, women of color, and LGBT individuals.

The night provided us with many historical ‘firsts’ from the first Muslim (Rashida Tlaib and Ihan Oma) and Native American women (Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland) elected to Congress to Colorado Democrat Jared Polis becoming the first openly gay man elected governor.

Some firsts, including a local feat, were simply unattainable. The Republican candidate in Florida’s gubernatorial election, Ron Desantis, defeated Democrat Andrew Gillum on Tuesday night by an incredibly tight margin. The Tallahassee mayor would have made history as Florida’s first black man elected governor.

To read more about the controversy surrounding Desantis, I encourage you to revisit a previous article of mine.

The Democratic ‘Blue Wave’ did create turbulence and was not short of triumph in the very least: Democrats managed to grab 220 seats and flip the House under their jurisdiction.

There are at least 113 women set to fill seats in the House of Representatives and it is an astounding accomplishment to be proud of. The ‘rainbow wave’ also saw great success with several lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals taking over or maintaining their places in the federal government.