Lesbian, Gen Z, and African-American:Winners of US midterm elections make history

The American people elected the first lesbian governor and the first candidate from Generation Z. A number of candidates came to power accompanied by the phrase “first-person”.

Through these results, the 2022 US midterm elections may enter history through the candidates, according to ABC News and CNN.

First lesbian governor

Maura Healey, winner of the Massachusetts gubernatorial race and currently serving as the state's attorney general, is the first gay woman governor in US history.

Massachusetts on Tuesday overwhelmingly elected 51-year-old Democrat Healey as its governor. She snatched the position from Republicans after easily defeating Geoff Diehl, NBC and Fox reported.

Much of the US media saw Healey's victory as a “long-awaited victory” for LGBTQ people who have tried to elect a lesbian to the highest office of state government for decades.

Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps LGBTQ candidates get elected to public office, said Healey's historic victory would help send a message that “LGBT people have a place in American society and can become public leaders.”

The Human Rights Campaign, which defends gay rights in the US, praised Healey's victory.

Healey attended Harvard University and led its basketball team. After that, she attended the Faculty of Law at Northeastern University. She began her career as the head of the civil rights department in the Attorney General's office.

She faced her first challenge at work after she took on the responsibility of holding major banks and lending companies responsible after the mortgage crisis in 2008.

First Generation Z Congressman

The first member of Gen Z, Maxwell Frost, a 25-year-old progressive activist, was elected to Congress as a representative of Florida.

Generation Z comes after the millennial generation. Born between the mid-1990s and the middle of the first decade of the second millennium, members of Gen Z are distinguished by their abilities to use and adapt to technology.

Frost, an African-American who a Cuban-born adoptive mother raised, will join lawmakers in the US House of Representatives, where the average age is 58, adding to the diversity of a body that is still more than 75% white, according to VOX.

Maryland's first black governor

In Maryland, Democrat Wes Moore defeated Republican Dan Cox and became the state's first black governor. According to AP, Moore is an author, former Army captain, and CEO of nonprofit organizations.

Moore, 44, is the son of a Jamaican immigrant who was raised by herself. He is now the third black person to be elected governor in American history, followingDeval Patrick in Massachusetts and Douglas Wilder in Virginia, according to a Washington Post report.

Moore, who recently entered politics, succeeded in influencing Maryland voters with his charismatic personality and optimism. He is seen as a rising star among a new generation of leaders in the Democratic Party.

Alabama’s first woman elected to US Senate

Alabama Republican candidate Katie Britt won the Senate election against Democrat Will Boyd, becoming the first Alabama woman elected to the Senate.

Britt is a lawyer and businesswoman who previously served as chief of staff for retired Senator Richard Shelby.

First female governor of Arkansas

Sarah Huckabee Sanders became the first woman governor of Arkansas by defeating Democrat Chris Jones. 

Sanders, a former press secretary to President Donald Trump, is the daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

First female governor of New York

Democrat Kathy Hochulbecame the first woman elected governor of New York in state history after defeating republican House Rep. Lee Zelden.