The midterm elections brought a lot of new firsts, with a record number of women and new minorities serving in office. Supporters are calling it a “rainbow wave.”
Minorities of all ages, ethnicities and faiths will now have a voice in Congress. A sweeping 30 seats in the House were snagged, including one by first time Democratic candidate and former Navy commander Elaine Lorea, who flipped her district in Virginia blue.
Voters in Michigan and Minnesota elected the first Muslim women into Congress. In Kansas and New Mexico, the nation’s very first Native American women were elected to join the ranks.
But it's not just Democratic women shaking up trends. Republican women are making history too.
Marsha Blackburn is now the first female Senator in Tennessee. Kristi Noem, the first female governor in South Dakota, also made history.
And rounding out the blue and red hues in the rainbow wave is the governor-elect from Colorado.
Jared Polis' voters surged the polls, electing him as the first LGBTQ state leader in the Mile High. He is the first publicly gay candidate to be elected as governor in the U.S.
The midterms was a melting pot of genders and backgrounds, adding to state government and the new House majority.