Midterm winners set historic firsts: first Muslim senator, first Black woman governor
Photo: The New RepublicVoters in the 2026 midterm elections on Tuesday elected candidates who will hold a series of historic firsts. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers to become the first Muslim U.S. senator. In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, beat Republican businessman Rick Jackson. She will be the first Black woman to serve as a governor in U.S. history and Georgia's first Democratic-elected governor since 1998. Republican Rep. Byron Donalds won Florida's governorship and will be its first Black governor. Democrat David Crowley will be Wisconsin's first Black governor, and Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas to become its first Hispanic governor. In New Hampshire, Democrat Chris Pappas beat Republican former Sen. John E. Sununu and will be the Senate's first openly gay man. Juliana Stratton won in Illinois, so three Black women will serve in the Senate together for the first time. Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio's first woman governor. Results were still coming in, and Slate reported that Democrats had won both chambers of Congress.
Fox News leads with Bottoms and works through the governors' races state by state, with party labels. It names Donalds, Crowley, Hinojosa and her defeat of Abbott, and it ends on El-Sayed and a live-results link. The opening shown omits Stratton, Acton and Pappas. The New Republic's "Congrats" headline and Slate's "Dems Just Made History" are openly celebratory. Slate's "blue tsunami" framing credits Democrats with nearly all the firsts, and it adds Texas and South Carolina Senate flips and a Black man set to be House speaker. The New Republic adds El-Sayed's campaign, Bottoms' platform, Stratton, Acton and a critical line about Ramaswamy's ad. All agree on El-Sayed and Bottoms, and Fox and Slate both note Donalds. France 24 and Al Jazeera largely list the same firsts, adding a Native American female senator in Minnesota.
How the sides differ Right sources list the firsts state by state with party labels and Georgia's flip; left sources frame them as a Democratic wave, adding campaign details and House and Senate control.
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The New Republic and Slate celebrate the results as Democratic history-making, featuring El-Sayed, Bottoms, Stratton, Acton and Pappas, plus campaign details, Democratic control of Congress and a critical note on Ramaswamy.
France 24 and Al Jazeera give brief overviews of the firsts for minority, female, Muslim, gay and Native American politicians, including a Native American female senator in Minnesota, without partisan commentary.
Fox News leads with Bottoms' Georgia win and lists the governors' and Senate firsts with party labels, including Republican Donalds and Hinojosa's defeat of Abbott, in a results-focused tone.