Historic firsts make the incoming class of senators full of barrier-breakers

New barriers broken nationally

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, will be the first Muslim person elected to the Senate. An epidemiologist and former Detroit health director, he beat Republican Mike Rogers in a closely contested race.

Historic wins in state delegations

Louisiana voters elected Julia Letlow to the Senate, making her the state’s first Republican woman to serve there. She previously became the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House from Louisiana in 2021, after running in a special election to replace her late husband, Congressman Luke Letlow, who died of COVID-19 in 2020.

Dr. Annie Andrews won an upset in South Carolina, becoming the first woman elected to the Senate from the state. She defeated Darline Graham, appointed to replace her late brother Lindsey Graham.

Democrats win in Republican states

Texas and Kansas elected Democratic senators, breaking with their recent political patterns. In Texas, James Talarico beat Republican nominee Ken Paxton, making him the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1988.

In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Roger Marshall. He will be the first Democrat to serve the state in the Senate since 1932. Both Talarico and Hamilton are pastors.

Democrats also made gains elsewhere in the midterms, flipping more than 40 House seats and picking up seven Senate seats. With some races still uncalled, the results gave Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.