Election night marked a historic day for Black women in politics, despite Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss.
Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks have been elected as the fourth and fifth Black women to win a Senate seat. It will be the first time in history that two Black women will serve in the U.S. Senate concurrently.
“The historic nature of sending two Black women to the U.S. Senate, the first time that we will have Black women serving concurrently, is tremendous,” said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, who is a practitioner at Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics.
With wins from Alsobrooks, Rochester, and House Reps. Nikema Williams, Summer Lee, Shontel Brown, Ilhan Omar, and Jasmine Crockett, Tuesday’s election has already started to expand the ranks of African Americans who successfully sought seats in Congress. As of Wednesday afternoon, Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum is also projected to be the first Black person from Oregon sent to Congress.
The new faces could also affect the passage of crucial legislation affecting issues such as health care, reproductive rights, and environmental laws that have a particular relevance to Black communities across the country.
“Even though the Democrats will be in the minority, having them in committee and using their platforms to elevate issues and policy that probably would not have been brought forward, particularly in the way that they will do it as Black women, is something that cannot be understated or undervalued in this moment,” said Peeler-Allen.
Black women are consistently having their work delegitimized, Peeler-Allen said, “because sexism, racism, and misogyny in American politics is like water trying to find a crack.”
“But, Angela [Alsobrooks] and Lisa [Blunt Rochester] And Kamala, despite their outcomes have had to climb to continuously to credentialize themselves, to prove that they have the experience they have, the education, and they have done the work to warrant them being in the room and their commitments to our country.”
“We suspect that Black women are motivated by nonpartisan factors, including their commitment to democratic principles, measured by their higher levels of civic duty,” academic researchers Christine Slaughter, Chaya Crowder, and Christina Greer wrote in Black Women: Keepers of Democracy, the Democratic Process, and the Democratic Party. “Black women’s entrenchment in the Democratic Party reflects their commitment to advancing justice for Black communities from an intersectional lens.”
Here are the races that Capital B has been keeping a particularly close eye on:
Alabama
Shomari Figures won his race against his Republican opponent, Caroleene Dobson, to represent Alabama’s newly drawn, majority-Black 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House. Figures, a first-time candidate and a former White House staffer, is the first Democrat to hold this seat since 2010.
U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell won her reelection bid to represent Alabama’s 7th Congressional District.
Delaware
Rochester has been elected into the U.S. Senate to represent Delaware. Rochester, a Democrat, defeated former Walmart executive Eric Hansen.
Minnesota
Omar won her reelection bid in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which mostly covers Minneapolis. Omar ran against Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican Iraqi American journalist who has accused the incumbent of being pro-Hamas.
Georgia
Williams easily reclaimed her U.S. House seat with nearly 90% of the vote. She represents the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.
Marjorie Taylor Greene was able to hold on to her seat for another term. She won against Shawn Harris, a retired veteran, in a landslide.
Indiana
Valerie McCray did not win her race to become the first Black woman to represent Indiana in the U.S. Senate. As a recent poll predicted, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican who currently represents Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, had a significant lead over McCray prior to Election Day.
Maryland
In what was expected to be a tight race, Prince George’s County Executive and Democratic nominee Alsobrooks has been elected as the first Black person to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate. This would be the second time Alsobrooks broke a barrier; she was the first Black woman county executive in the state. Alsobrooks beat former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Libertarian Mike Scott, and five write-in candidates.
Minnesota
Omar won her reelection bid in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, which mostly covers Minneapolis. Omar ran against Dalia al-Aqidi, a Republican Iraqi American journalist who has accused the incumbent of being pro-Hamas. A victory by Omar was seen as essential for Democrats to regain control of the U.S. House.
New York
Mondaire Jones lost to U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler in his bid to reclaim his seat as representative of New York’s 17th Congressional District, which covers Putnam, Rockland, Westchester, and parts of southern Dutchess counties.
Ohio
Brown won her reelection bid to represent Ohio’s 11th Congressional District.
Oregon
Bynum, an Oregon state legislator, is projected to be the victor in the race for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, one of the most closely watched U.S. House contests in the country.
Pennsylvania
Lee won her reelection bid for her U.S. House seat to represent Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District.
Texas
In a major blow for Democrats, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred failed to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. It was the Democratic Party’s latest attempt at ending decades of GOP dominance in a state that has been at the center of battles over reproductive rights and immigration.
Wisconsin
Rep. Gwen Moore won her reelection campaign to represent Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District.
Staff writer Adam Mahoney contributed to this report.
This story has been updated.
