The historic firsts of the 2026 election
By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — Winners up and down the 2026 ballot will make history this year, CNN’s Decision Desk projects, including the first Black woman governor, the first Muslim elected to the US Senate and the first out gay male US senator.
As President Donald Trump takes on the latter half of his second term, both parties will welcome a diverse group of newly elected lawmakers at the state and national level.
Read more about the candidates who are projected to boast the moniker of “first.”
Governors
First female Black governor
Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to become the first Black governor of Georgia, the first female governor of Georgia and the first female Black governor in US history.
Bottoms, who served as Atlanta mayor between 2018 and 2022, was among the women whom President Joe Biden considered as a running mate in the 2020 election. She later joined his administration. Bottoms beat out Trump-endorsed Rick Jackson, making expanding Medicaid coverage, homeowner tax relief and increasing education funding the key pillars of her campaign.
First Black governor of Florida
Rep. Byron Donalds is projected to become the first Black governor of Florida. He campaigned on tax reforms, regulating data centers and supporting Trump’s agenda in a state that has become more solidly red. He was bolstered early in the race with a full-throated Trump endorsement.
Donalds defeated David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who became a Democrat last year and tried to appeal to voters as a pragmatic centrist.
First Hispanic governor of Texas
Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa is projected to become the first Hispanic governor of Texas, unseating Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who served almost 12 years in office. The two candidates clashed over culture issues, including abortion, during the campaign.
Hinojosa, a 52-year-old state lawmaker and attorney, will be the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990 and only the third woman to hold the position.
First female Native American governor
Deb Haaland is projected to become the first Native American governor of New Mexico, first female Native American governor in US history.
The former US Interior Secretary and congresswoman was favored to win the state’s open governorship. During the Biden administration, Haaland became the first Native American Cabinet secretary.
Several prominent Democrats, including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker traveled to New Mexico to campaign for Haaland, fueling rumors about looming 2028 presidential bids.
First woman elected governor of Ohio
Amy Acton is projected to become the first Democrat to win Ohio’s governorship since 2006 and the first woman elected to the office. Acton, a physician, defeats Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a race that captured national attention over a controversial attack ad.
Campaigning on affordability, Acton pitched property tax cuts targeted at middle-income and older Ohioans, and a moratorium on data centers unless they cover their own utility costs.
First Latino elected governor of California
Xavier Becerra is projected to become the first elected Latino governor of California, maintaining his party’s control of the nation’s largest state.
Becerra, the former US congressman, state attorney general and secretary of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration, emerged from a crowded, contentious primary to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Buoyed by California’s solidly liberal electorate and a favorable midterm political environment, Becerra repeatedly linked his opponent, Republican Steve Hilton, to Trump, hammering his endorsement and appealing to Democrats to send a message of opposition to the administration.
First female governor of Tennessee
Sen. Marsha Blackburn is projected to become Tennessee’s first female governor. A staunch supporter of Trump who closely aligned herself with his agenda while on the trail, Blackburn will leave her Senate seat for the governor’s mansion after decades in Congress.
First Black governor of Wisconsin
David Crowley is projected to become the first Black governor of Wisconsin. Trump won Wisconsin by 0.9 percentage points in 2024, the smallest margin in any state that cycle. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who chose not to seek a third term, backed Crowley before the primary.
First Black governor of Nevada
Nevada state Attorney General Aaron Ford is projected to become the first Black governor of the Silver State. In his role as attorney general, he sued the Trump administration multiple times, battling over its moves on tariffs, federal funding and an array of other issues, a record he touted in the campaign.
Ford will serve as governor during the next presidential election. In one sign of the state’s outsize electoral importance, the Democratic National Committee has moved Nevada to the No. 2 slot in the 2028 presidential primary calendar.
Senators
First Muslim US senator
Abdul El-Sayed is projected to become the first Muslim Senator in US history. A former public health official, El-Sayed’s win marks a battleground state victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. El-Sayed frequently faced Republican accusations that he is sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic terror while on the campaign trail. He had called those attacks a distraction and said on Election Night that Republicans ran “one of the ugliest campaigns we’ve seen in our lifetimes.”
First female Native American US senator
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is projected to become the first Native America senator in US history and the first Native American senator from Minnesota. Serving as lieutenant governor before running for Senate, Flanagan hails from the Democratic party’s progressive wing and was endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Flanagan expressed deep opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement in Minnesota – a defining issue in her state – and vowed to “rip ICE apart.”
First out gay male US senator
Rep. Chris Pappas is projected to become the first out gay male senator in US history with his win in New Hampshire’s US Senate race. His win means Democrats will hold on to a critical seat, in a state that Republicans previously saw as one of their best opportunities to flip. Pappas is a four-term congressman from southeastern New Hampshire.
First elected woman US senator in South Carolina
Annie Andrews is projected to become the first elected female US senator from South Carolina, defeating appointed Sen. Darline Graham and flipping a seat that Republicans have held for nearly three decades.
Trump orchestrated Graham’s appointment to the seat left vacant after the sudden death of her late brother, former Sen. Lindsey Graham, in July. The president’s backing of a political unknown stirred controversy in solidly red South Carolina.
In her short political career, Graham pitched herself as more conservative than her brother, breaking with some of his positions, like eliminating the filibuster or a more hardline approach to immigration, to side with Trump.
Andrews painted herself as an independent-minded moderate who is concerned about affordability, quality of life and corruption.
House of Representatives
First female Black member of Congress in Colorado
Melat Kiros is projected to become the first female Black member of Congress from Colorado with her win in the state’s 1st District. Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist and lawyer, will also join the Generation–Z sect of Congress as one of the youngest sitting members of the House.
First Muslim member of Congress from New Jersey
Adam Hamawy is projected to become the first Muslim member of Congress from New Jersey after winning in the 12th Congressional District. Hamawy, a retired US Army combat surgeon and sharp critic of Israel, hails from the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, supporting Medicare for All as well as canceling medical and student loan debt.
First Native American congresswoman in New York
New York state Rep. Claire Valdez is projected to become the first female Native American member of Congress from New York. The one-term assemblywoman will win the state’s 7th Congressional District. Valdez’s win marks another victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing whose growing influence came in part from the popularity of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who championed Valdez.
First out gay member of Congress in Michigan
Jeremy Moss is projected to become the first out gay member of Congress from the Wolverine state with his win in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Moss, who served as state senator before his win, takes over the seat made vacant by Rep. Haley Stevens — who left the post to run for the US Senate before losing in the primary.
First Hispanic member of Congress from Nebraska
Denise Powell is projected to become the first Hispanic member of Congress from Nebraska. It’s been a decade since Nebraska sent a Democrat to Congress, but Rep. Don Bacon’s decision to retire turned his Omaha-area district into a key November battleground. Bacon was one of only three Republicans in the country who won in a district that Kamala Harris also carried in 2024.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
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