In a landmark election, voters have chosen the first two Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate simultaneously. Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester and Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks won their respective races and raised the total number of Black women elected to the government branch from two to four. The dual victory will also bring the number of overall Black senators to five, the highest in history.
Blunt Rochester, currently Delaware’s at-large House representative, is breaking new ground as both the first woman and first African American to represent her state. “The people have spoken, and we’re bringing bright hope to the United States Senate,” she declared to her supporters. “I stand before you tonight extremely humbled, and with a heart filled with gratitude to God and to the people of Delaware who put their trust in me."
Alsobrooks, a former Prince George’s County executive, is similarly the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the chamber. “It is remarkable to me that in two years, America will celebrate its 250th birthday, and in all those years there have been more than two thousand people who have served in the United States Senate, and only three have looked like me,” Alsobrooks said during her victory speech. “I want to salute all of those who came before me. Who made it possible for me to stand on this stage tonight.”
In addition to these wins, other candidates set groundbreaking precedents. As confirmed by The Associated Press, Delaware voters elected Sarah McBride, who won an at-large seat in the House, making history as the first openly transgender person to be elected to Congress. Andy Kim became both the first Asian American elected to represent New Jersey in the Senate and the first Korean American in the Senate overall. Bernie Moreno, a Republican, made history as the first Latino senator from Ohio.