The 2026 US midterm elections resulted in a set of unprecedented results in the history of the United States, including the election of the first Muslim to the Senate, and the first black woman to the position of governor of a state, in addition to the election of a number of male and female candidates who became the first to hold these positions from certain ethnic, religious, or social backgrounds.
These results coincided with the Democratic Party regaining control of both chambers of Congress, and included candidates from both the Democratic and Republican parties in elections at the state and congressional levels.
Below are the ten most prominent electoral precedents recorded in the November 3 elections:
Keisha Lance Bottoms: The first black woman to be elected governor of a US state
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the position of governor of Georgia, after defeating her Republican rival, Rick Jackson, to become the first black woman to be elected to the position of governor of a state in the United States.
Bottoms also became the first woman and first black person elected as governor of Georgia.
She previously served as Mayor of Atlanta between 2018 and 2022, and later served as an advisor to former President Joe Biden.
Abdul Rahman Al-Sayyid: The first Muslim to be elected to the Senate
Democrat Abdel Rahman Mohamed El-Sayed, known as Abdul El-Sayed, won the Michigan state seat in the US Senate, defeating his Republican rival, Mike Rogers, to become the first Muslim elected to the Senate.
Al-Sayed is an American doctor of Egyptian origins, who previously worked in the public health sector, and focused during his election campaign on issues of costs of living and health care.
The electoral race witnessed criticism and attacks targeting his religious background, from his Republican rival and President Donald Trump.
Deb Haaland: The first Indigenous woman to be elected governor of a state
Democrat Deb Haaland won the governorship of New Mexico, becoming the first indigenous woman to serve as governor of a US state.
Haaland belongs to the Laguna Pueblo tribe, and was one of the first women of indigenous descent elected to Congress in 2018.
She also served as Secretary of the Interior in the administration of former President Joe Biden, and was the first indigenous person to hold the position of minister in the US government.
Javier Becerra: California's first Latino elected governor
Democrat Javier Becerra won the position of governor of California, after defeating his Republican rival, Steve Hilton, to become the first person of Latino origin to be directly elected to this position.
Becerra, the son of immigrants from Mexico, previously served as Attorney General of California, a member of the US House of Representatives, and the Department of Health and Human Services in the Biden administration.
Becerra is not the first governor of Latino origins in the state's history, as Romualdo Pacheco previously assumed the position in 1875, but by succession to the previous governor, and not by direct election.
Gina Inojosa: The first Latina woman elected governor of Texas
Democrat Gina Inojosa won the position of governor of Texas, after defeating Republican Governor Greg Abbott, becoming the first woman of Latin origin to be elected to this position in the state.
She also became the first Democratic candidate to win the position of governor of Texas since the election of Ann Richards in 1990.
Inojosa previously served as a member of the state House of Representatives, and focused her election campaign on the cost of living and opposition to the construction of new data centers.
Byron Donalds: The first black governor of Florida
Republican Byron Donalds wins the governorship of Florida, becoming the first black person elected to that position in the state.
Donalds will succeed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has reached his maximum term limit.
Donalds has served in the US House of Representatives since 2021, and was supported by President Donald Trump during his election campaign.
Chris Pappas: The first openly gay man elected to the Senate
Democrat Chris Pappas won the New Hampshire state Senate seat, after defeating his Republican challenger, John Sununu, to become the first openly gay man to be elected to the Senate.
Pappas previously served as a member of the US House of Representatives, before running for the Senate.
During his victory celebration, Pappas criticized President Trump, businessman Elon Musk, and supporters of his Republican rival, accusing them of financing attack ads and spreading false information during the election campaign.
Peggy Flanagan: The first Indigenous woman elected to the Senate
Democrat Peggy Flanagan won Minnesota's Senate seat, becoming the first Indigenous woman elected to the chamber.
Flanagan previously served as Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, is of the Ojibwe nation, and is a member of the White Earth Indigenous group.
David Crowley and Aaron Ford: the first black governors of Wisconsin and Nevada
Democrat David Crowley won the position of governor of Wisconsin, after defeating his Republican rival, Tom Tiffany, to become the first black person to hold this position in the state.
Crowley was the executive director of Milwaukee County, and had previously withdrawn from the electoral race before returning to it with the support of outgoing Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford defeated Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, becoming the state's first black governor.
Ford previously served as Attorney General of Nevada, and was the first black person to hold that position, as well as majority leader in the state Senate.
