Yesterday’s Elections Saw a Lot of Huge, Historic Wins

Until Trump took office, midterm and off-year elections weren’t generally something most voters turn out for, but just like in 2018, yesterday’s elections saw some sweeping changes across the country.

First, the big one: Kentucky now has a Democratic Governor. Donald Trump won the state by about 30 points in 2016 and he made a last-minute trip to join the Republican incumbent Matt Bevin at a rally this week. But the state’s Attorney General Andy Beshear still won–though only by about 5,000 votes, which is a great reminder of just how important it is to turn out for these off-year elections!

Seeing as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky and he’s up for reelection last year, this is giving a lot of people, both in Kentucky and nationwide, hope that he might actually be on his way out.

This is just the icing on that cake, by the way:

Over in Virginia, Democrats had an incredible night, winning complete control of both legislative chambers.

That also included the re-election of Danica Roem, who made history yet again.

And Ghazala Hashmi became the first Muslim woman to be elected to Virginia’s State Senate.

Also, remember Juli Briskman, the woman who was fired for flipping off Trump’s motorcade? Well, she won a seat on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in Virginia last night!

Big things happened in Pennsylvania, too, starting with the fact that one vote came from actual space.

Democrats took control of City Council seats across the state, even in Delaware County, which has been deep red since the Civil War.

In Philadelphia, a third party candidate won an at-large City Council seat for the first time since the modern two-party structure was introduced 100 years ago. Two of the at-large seats are reserved for members outside the majority party, and that means for the last 70 years, they’ve been held by Republicans. But Kendra Brooks from the Working Families Party just changed that.

“We broke the GOP,” Brooks said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We beat the Democratic establishment. … They said a black single mom from North Philly wasn’t the right person but we have shown them that we are bigger than them.”

Paige Cognetti became Philadelphia’s first female mayor–and she’ll also be the first mayor-elect (I’m pretty sure nationwide) to give birth! (She’s due in December.)

Tucson, Arizona also elected its first female mayor, Regina Romero, who is also their first Latina mayor.

These are just a few big wins–there were plenty more across the country yesterday. Where there any exciting results in your area? Share in the comments!

Meanwhile, this is what Election Day looked like outside of the White House:

(image: John Sommers II/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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