Here are some fun factoids, that we know of, from last night’s election:
- Three African-American candidates — Antonio Delgado (D-NY), Colin Allred (D-TX), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL) — defeated Republican incumbents in majority-white districts.
- Texas elected two Latina women, Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Veronica Escobar (D-TX), who are the first Latina congresswomen in the state. Tennessee elected a female Senator, Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), for the first time.
- Two native American women were elected to Congress for the first time. Sharice Davids (D-KS) is also the state’s first openly gay representative and the first former mixed-martial-arts fighter. Deb Haaland (D-NM), member of the Pueblo of Laguna, defeated Republican Janice Arnold-Jones.
- Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) became the first-ever Muslim woman elected to the U.S. Congress. She ran unopposed by a Republican challenger and she won her primary in August, beating out five other challengers. She is joined by Ilhan Omar (D-MN).
- Jared Polis in Colorado was elected the first openly gay governor in U.S. history.
- Amendment 4 passed in Florida restoring voting rights to 1.5 million felons.
- Marijuana won big. Michigan voted to legalize recreational pot use, Missouri voters legalized medical marijuana, with a tax, while North Dakota voters decided not to legalize recreational marijuana.
- Voters in Arkansas and Missouri raised the minimum wage. In Missouri, the wage will rise to $11 from $8.50; Arkansas’s will increase to $12 from $7.85.
- Health care access did well in conservative states. Voters in Idaho and Nebraska passed the Medicaid expansions, bringing tens of thousands of additional adults under Medicaid coverage. Votes are still being counted for initiatives in Montana and Utah. Montana’s measure would raise tobacco taxes to pay for, and continue, a Medicaid expansion that might otherwise expire. Utah’s proposal included a sales tax increase to help fund the expansion.