The First Native American Women in Congress
By: Emily McBride
Deb Haaland, representing New Mexico, and Sharice Davids, representing Kansas, are the first Native American women ever elected to Congress. Haaland is a member in the Pueblo of Laguna, and Davids is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Sharice Davids’ main focus during her time in Congress is to protect affordable healthcare and be a voice for hardworking families in Kansas. She hopes to expand Medicare to all Kansans. Davids also believes that the United States needs to address numerous issues within the immigration system, and believes that the stereotyping of immigrants as threats is both harmful and unjust.
Deb Haaland prioritizes counteracting climate change and eliminating the use of fossil fuels. Serving in Congress, she claims that she will work to stop the infringement on the rights of tribal nations by the fossil fuel industry. Like Davids, Haaland also believes in expanding Medicare and comprehensive immigration reform.
Marsha Blackborn: First Female Senator from Tennessee
By: Mayra Gutierrez
Marsha Blackborn, the first ever woman to be elected in the seat as a Senator for Tennessee, is a Republican Candidate for its Seventh Congressional District after the 2018 U.S.Senate Election. She has been a member in the United States House of Representatives since 2003, and hopes to target various issues in the district that are important to her: border security, economic security, energy security, and national security. Leading with 1,224,763 votes and overall 54.7 percent of the votes, Representative Blackborn beat her Democratic counterpart, Phil Bredesen, who was the former Governor of Tennessee.
She won over the people of Tennessee by promising to “keep Tennessean values” and being known for her strong, conservative views. Blackborn was also voted to retain the majority of seats in the House Republican, supporting President Donald Trump’s presidency, unlike her predecessor, Bredesen.
29 and going to Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Youngest Woman Elected to Congress
By: Karla Garduno
At just 28 years of age, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez challenged Democratic Congressman Joe Crowley who had been elected for 10 consecutive terms. Unlike Crowley, Ocasio was involved (and still is) in her community一New York’s 14th congressional district一in order to comprehend the citizens and put herself in their shoes. By doing so, Ocasio was able to “change who turns out [to vote]” and was able to beat her Democratic opponent.
Not only that, but during the 2018 midterm elections the young female candidate defeated Anthony Pappas, her Republican opponent. With her election, history was made as she was the first person of color to represent her district and the youngest woman to ever be elected for congress at just 29 years of age.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has very firm Democratic beliefs, especially those that apply to people of color. The Bronx native claims that healthcare is a necessary living right and that no one should be left bankrupt in order to pay for their medical bills. According to Ocasio’s website, she claims that “almost every other developed nation in the world has universal healthcare” that covers medicine, vision, dental, and mental health care. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also wants to get rid of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and make the process to become a citizen as clear as black and white. She also believes that no American citizen should be homeless if the nation has the resources to help those in need.
The young congresswoman ran a low-budget campaign and refused to take any money from lobbyists, believing that that the only way to change Washington is by maintaining a corrupt-free campaign.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an alum from the National Hispanic Institute, a youth leadership program established with the vision of “[fostering] future community leaders for the expanding Latino community throughout the United States and Latin America” with a sense of pride in their heritage (National Hispanic Institute). This organization is extremely popular across the nation, but also here at Lamar Academy. For more information about this life-changing organization, then visit their website at for more information on how to participate. (https://www.nationalhispanicinstitute.org/aboutnhi/)
It is evident that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has taken the seat full of energy and motivation with immense support from not only the Bronx, but from minority groups such as women of color across the nation.
FIRST OPENLY GAY GOVERNOR IN COLORADO
By: Jennifer Duarte
The 2018 midterm elections brought some interesting candidates into the mix! This year’s midterms had historic firsts all around the United States. Jared Polis, 43, born in Boulder, Colorado has became the first openly gay governor to be elected in Colorado.
Polis was the first openly gay man to be elected to U.S. House of Representatives as the Democratic Representative for Colorado's 2nd Congressional District in 2009 (Eli Watkins). During that time, he and his spouse Marlon Reis wrote about their wrote about their experience as a same sex couple in Congress. That was years before same sex marriage was legalized throughout the United States.
More and more we see that times are changing and our people are changing with it. Sometimes the responses are not always pleasant and sometimes these changes are presented with open arms. From that article in 2008, Polis and Reis wrote about the challenges they faced being married in a society that was filled with tension and resentment, sometimes their happiness being accepted.
This goes to show that Jared Polis is a man who strives to fulfill what he wants. He does not stop for anyone. That is why he is the first openly gay governor-elect in Colorado. Polis is the man breaking through norms, showing that just because he is gay, it doesn’t mean he cannot do his job well or represent his people.
Elected to Congress: America’s First Muslim Women
By: Fabiola Salazar
Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American, and Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American, are officially the first Muslim women elected to Congress, after both Democrats won their Congressional Midterm 2018 races. These two women have demonstrated incredible dedication, leadership, and responsibility. Read on to find out how they already have, and will continue to make history.
GET TO KNOW RASHIDA TLAIB
In 2008, Rashida became the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the Michigan State Legislature, where she served three terms in the Michigan House of Representatives, and became the Democratic Leader of the Appropriations Committee. During her terms, Tlaib restored and secured millions of dollars for free health clinics, lead abatement, Meals on Wheels programs for seniors citizens, before and after-school programs, and education funding. She authorized laws to protect homeowners from fraudulent mortgage bankers and tax preparers, and to stop scrap metal thieves from looting Detroit’s abandoned homes and from destroying occupied properties.
Tlaib has provided transformative constituent services, saving hundreds of families from losing their homes to foreclosure, securing over $1 million in tax refunds by providing her working-class residents with free tax preparation, and connecting senior citizens to grant money to help “weatherize: their homes and save on energy bills. She has even taken billionaires and multinational corporations to court - and won, forcing them to abide by the law.
And now, in 2018, she has become the first Muslim woman to ever serve in the United States House of Representatives as the representative of Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. She is filling the seat vacated by former Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who resigned last year amid sexual harassment allegations. Tlaib is currently endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Aside from being a U.S. congresswoman, politician, and attorney, Tlaib is the daughter of two Palestinian immigrants, a mother of two, and the oldest of 14 siblings - all born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She became a politician and attorney after earning her B.A. in Political Science from Wayne State University, and her law degree from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Tlaib leads the national campaign of Take On Hate that was created to combat rising anti-Arab and Muslim bigotry. She is a vocal critic of Donald Trump, and was arrested two years ago for disrupting his August 2016 speech and speaking out against his discriminatory rhetoric. Determined, Tlaib stands up for her beliefs, and vows to work tirelessly to knock down barriers for real change, and to make sure that her residents are genuinely cared for.
What Rashida Tlaib Stands for:
Securing a $15 minimum wage
Standing up for Unions
Preventing cuts to Social Security, Medicare, & Medicaid
Promoting homeownership
Ending corporate welfare
Equal pay for equal work
Debt-free college & vocational training
Overturning Citizens United
Restoring Voting Rights Act
GET TO KNOW ILHAN OMAR
Ilhan Omar, born in Somalia, had to flee the country’s civil war when she was only 8 years old. Omar and her family then moved to a refugee camp in Kenya, where they lived for four years before coming to the United States, and settling in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. At 14 years old, Omar’s love for democratic policy was born, as she served as an interpreter for her grandfather at local caucuses for Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Ever since, her role as a devoted progressive activist has only evolved.
Prior to running for office, Omar was a Humphrey Policy Fellow and served as a senior Policy Aide for a Minneapolis City Council Member. As part of her advocacy work, Omar has largely supported working families, educational access, environmental protection, and racial equity.
In 2016, she was elected to Minnesota’s House of Representatives, and became the first Somali-American Muslim legislator in the United States. Along with her campaign team, she increased voter turnout by 37%. Some of her experience includes being appointed to and chairing Governor Dayton’s Young Women’s Initiative, being the policy director of Women Organizing Women, the Child Nutrition Outreach Coordinator of the MN Department of Education, and a Community Nutrition Educator for the University of Minnesota.
Aside from being a human rights and women’s advocate, Omar has been a National American Muslim Democratic Caucus member, a former Advisory Board member for the Minnesota Council on American Islamic Relations, former Vice President of the Minneapolis NAACP, and Oxfam Sister Planer ambassador. Similar to Rashida Tlaib, she has also been brave enough to stand up for her beliefs and to speak up against Donald Trump’s discrimination against immigrants, as she rallied over 2,000 neighbors to protest Trump’s immigration ban, and strengthened Minnesota’s role in the lawsuit opposing the travel ban.
Now, in 2018, Omar has been elected to U.S. Congress, as a Representative of Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, filling the seat vacated by Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison - the first Muslim ever elected to Congress - who is now running for Attorney General. Aside from being the first Muslim Congresswoman, Omar is also the first woman of color to represent Minnesota in Congress, the first congresswoman to wear a hijab, the first refugee ever elected to Congress, and a mother of three. She hopes that her candidacy will encourage people to be bold enough to seek office, regardless of whether or not they fit into a particular demographic.
Following her success, Omar has stated how her political involvement is more than about her, or any win or loss - it is about “changing the narrative surrounding immigrants and women of color who run for office.” She stated, “My grandfather taught me that when you see injustice, you fight back. You do not give into sorrow, you do not give in to sadness. You organize.”
What Ilhan Omar Stands For:
Guarantee access to public education
Provide healthcare coverage for all
Establish economic justice for working families
Create a just immigration system
Ensure environmental justice & energy independence
Reimagine our criminal justice system
Achieve homes for all
Build Resilient Infrastructure
Promote peace & prosperity
Fight for LGBTQIA+ Right
Prevent Gun Violence
Invest in Arts & Humanities
Implement clean elections
References
For more information about these candidates and their campaigns, visit their websites below.
Works Cited
Watkins, Eli. “Colorado Elects Nation's First Openly Gay Governor, CNN Projects.” CNN, Cable News Network, 6 Nov. 2018, 11:21 pm, www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/politics/jared-polis-colorado-gay-governor/index.html.
Colorado elects nation's first openly gay governor, CNN projects by Eli Watkins, CNN
“Polis was one of several LGBT candidates who ran for governor this cycle, along with Brown in Oregon, Vermont Democrat Christine Hallquist and Texas Democrat Lupe Valdez.”
“Polis is no stranger to the distinction, having become the first openly gay man elected to the House as a freshman in 2008.”
“As a freshman, Polis and his spouse Marlon Reis wrote about their experience as a same sex couple in Congress -- years before same sex marriage was legalized at the federal level.”
Commentary: A 'congressional spouse' breaks barriers by Jared Polis
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