Donald Trump is projected to win the U.S. presidential election, according to NBC News. With that, the United States will continue its over 200-year tradition of having a man in the highest office.
Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, made history as just the second woman to lead a major-party presidential ticket — and also the first Black woman and first South Asian. But elsewhere on the ballot, fewer women ran for office this year.
The number of female candidates fighting for seats in the House and Senate failed to reach the highs seen in the 2022 and 2020 races, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Still, Tuesday evening marked a night of firsts for women across the U.S. In Delaware, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member of Congress after winning the state’s only House seat. And in Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks became the state’s first Black senator.
Here are 8 women who made history with their election wins:
Angela Alsobrooks
Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) arrives on stage to speak after winning Election results were announced, during the Angela Alsobrooks’ Election Night party hosted by the Maryland Democratic Party, on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, in College Park, Maryland.
| The Washington Post | Getty Images
Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, 53, is the first Black woman to represent Maryland in the United States Senate and the second female senator from the state after Democrat Barbara Mikulski.
“We are looking at a time that is like a time we’ve never seen before,” Alsobrooks told NBC News on the campaign trail in August. “This election will help us decide the kind of future we want for our children and grandchildren and what kind of state and country we will build for them.”
Lisa Blunt Rochester
Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester, 62, made history as the first Black and first female senator from Delaware after winning the open-seat race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tom Carper, her one-time boss.
The election of Blunt Rochester and Maryland’s Alsobrooks to the Senate means that the U.S. will have two Black women serving as senators for the first time in history.
Kelly Ayotte
Kelly Ayotte, pictured here at an election night event in Concord, New Hampshire during the 2016 presidential election
Kayana Szymczak | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte, 56, made history as the first Republican woman elected governor of New Hampshire. Ayotte also became New Hampshire’s first female attorney general when she was elected in 2004 before serving in Congress for one term.
New Hampshire has elected two female governors before Ayotte’s win — Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan. Thirteen women are set to take office as governor in 2025, beating the previous record of 12 women serving as governor simultaneously.
Emily Randall
Democrat Emily Randall, 39, is the first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Washington State as well as the first out LGBTQ Latina elected to Congress after winning a House seat in the state’s 6th Congressional district, which encompasses the Olympic Peninsula, the Kitsap Peninsula, and parts of Tacoma.
Sarah McBride
In Delaware, Democrat Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member elected to Congress. “Tonight is a testament to Delawareans that here in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities,” McBride, 34, said at an election night celebration Tuesday night.
Yassamin Ansari
Yassamin Ansari speaks during the Harris-Walz Campaign Election Eve rally and concert at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 4, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
Democrat Yassamin Ansari, 32, is the first Iranian American woman to represent Arizona in Congress after winning a House seat in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Phoenix and Glendale. The daughter of Iranian immigrants, Ansari served on the Phoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024.
Julie Fedorchak
Republican Julie Fedorchak, 56, is the first woman to represent North Dakota in the House of Representatives after winning the open seat for the state’s at-large district on Election Day. She has been a public commissioner in North Dakota since 2013.
Julie Johnson
In Texas, Democrat Julie Johnson, 58, became the first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from the state after winning the open-seat race for Texas’ 32nd Congressional District in the northeast part of the state. The former trial attorney told People Magazine “it’s humbling to win” in a state as historically conservative as Texas.
“What Texans want are people who are smart and thoughtful, who work hard, are compassionate, can clearly articulate the issues and be a good representative of the people,” she added.
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