This year's election night brought us many firsts for minority groups across the board. These big wins are sure to bring about big history and bigger change. Here are nine boundary-breaking politicians who made their way into elected positions on election night.
1. Diane Marie Rodríguez Zambrano
Former sex worker, activist, psychologist, and openly transgender woman Diane Rodríguez has just been elected to Equador's National Assembly. Rodríguez has been a high profile activist since she ran for Congress in 2013. Her transmasculine partner, Fernando Machado, gave birth to their son in 2015 and the two have broken into the mainstream media as spokespeople for trans rights. “The rights of trans people are among the least protected from all the groups in the LGBTI community,” she told NBC News. “What interests us mainly is that we don’t get killed on the streets. That is our main fight. Trans people are still walking targets.” Rodríguez will be using her political platform to fight for the rights of all minorities.
2. Danica Roem
Roem beat Bob Marshall, who has been elected 13 times in the past 26 years, for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Roem is the first openly transgender candidate to be elected and serve in a legislative body. Marshall has openly stated his stance against the LGBTQ community including his proposal of a state bill that would allow with a state license to refuse service to gay people, introduce a bill restricting transgender individuals from bathroom usage, and refused to correctly pronoun Roem in debates. Roem says she is standing up for the "misfits" who have always felt under-represented.
3. Andrea Jenkins
Andrea Jenkins is the first openly transgender person of color ever to be elected to public office. She will be serving on the Minneapolis City council, representing the 8th ward. Jenkins won with 73% of the popular vote and has stated that this outcome makes her hopeful that the nation's communities "will not succumb to hatred, bigotry, and transphobia".
4. Michelle Kaufusi
%2Farc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-sltrib.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2F6BSQ6XKNDNEJBGFFX6CIBS57LA.jpg&psig=AOvVaw2VsY1nyUSviCSwfEPWVfHz&ust=1510269588730119)
Michelle Kaufusi became the first female elected Mayor of the 157-year-old city of Provo, Utah. She won a tight race with 3,601 votes. Kaufusi was born and raised in Provo and has run on a platform of leadership and fiscal revamping.
5. Ravinder Bhalla
Ravi Bhalla has been elected as the mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. Bhalla will be the first turbaned Sikh mayor in New Jersey's history. Bhalla's campaign was smeared when doctored fliers were passed out reading "Don't let TERRORISM take over our town!" Yet, against all odds, Bhalla came out victorious!
6. Jenny Durkan
Jenny Durkan has been elected as Seattle's first female mayor since the 1920s and makes history as their first openly lesbian mayor. Durkan has been quoted saying that the city can "show what it looks like when progressive values are put into action," and "Donald Trump, keep your hands off Seattle".
7. Vi Lyles
Vi Lyles is the first Black woman to be elected as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. Lyles won as part of a Democratic sweep of North Carolina elections. The countywide voter turn out was 21%, five points above 2015.
8. Melvin Carter III
Melvin Carter has been elected as St. Paul's first Black mayor. Melvin Carter won over 50% of the vote and swept his opponent by a wide margin. “St. Paul is a diverse city; St. Paul is a multicultural city,” Carter said. “And I think today’s outcome says we’re ready to step into that future.”
9. Kathy Tran
Kathy Tran has been elected to the House of Delegates in the state of Virginia. Tran will be the first Asian-American woman to be elected to office in Virginia.
