Minority women made history Tuesday night when Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim woman elected to serve in Congress and Ayanna Pressley became the first black woman to represent Massachusetts in the House.
Tlaib, a Democrat, won her race Tuesday evening after she ran unopposed for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District seat previously held by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who resigned earlier this year following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Pressley won Massachuset’s 7th Congressional District after she upset nine-term incumbent Democrat Mike Capuano in the primary.
The 44-year-old was a shoo-in with no Republican on the ballot.
Ilhan Omar, a Muslim Democrat, won in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, becoming the second Muslim woman elected to serve in Congress and first Somali-American. She replaces Keith Ellison, who vacated his seat to run in the state’s attorney general race.
Nearly 100 Muslims filed to run for federal or state offices in 2018, the Associated Press reported in July.
Additionally, two Native American women — Democrats Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland — were elected to Congress for the first time. Haaland won her race for U.S. House of Representatives in New Mexico against Republican Janice Arnold-Jones. Davids was elected to the House in Kansas in a contest against incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder.
