One example: Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who will be the first Somali-American member of Congress, noted the history of her election on Twitter on Wednesday night.
Democrats seize control of the House on Thursday with fresh voices and new energy as they prepare to take on President Donald Trump, many of them inspired to run because of his presidency.
The party breakdown in the new House of Representatives will be 235 Democrats and 199 Republicans, with one congressional race in North Carolina still unresolved. In the Senate there will be 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, a total that includes two independents who caucus with the Democrats.
First Native American women in Congress
Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico are the first Native American women elected to Congress.
Davids identifies as a lesbian, which will also make her the first openly LGBT member of Congress from Kansas.
First Muslim women in Congress
Omar also has the distinction of becoming the first Somali-American member of Congress. She came to the US more than two decades ago as a refugee.
Tlaib is the first Palestinian-American woman to be elected to Congress. The daughter of Palestinian immigrants, she became the first Muslim female member of Michigan’s state Legislature a decade ago.
Youngest woman ever elected to Congress
Abby Finkenauer, a 30-year-old Democrat who was elected to an Iowa US House seat, will also be one of the youngest members of Congress.
Other notable midterm ‘firsts’
Republican Marsha Blackburn will be the first female senator from Tennessee.
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema became the first female senator elected to represent Arizona. Sinema will also make history as the first openly bisexual senator.
New members will have to navigate a new political landscape
Newly elected members have been sharing their experiences on social media in a way we’ve never seen before.
As new elected members get used to Washington — hiring their staffs, figuring out their office budgets and figuring out which apartments to rent — they’ll also be faced with trying to navigate a new political landscape on both sides of the aisle.
For Republicans, most have aligned themselves with Trump.
Voices on the other side of the aisle are less united.
Progressive firebrands like Ocasio-Cortez, who promised to mobilize the resistance, have been elected to the same party as conservative and moderate Democrats who won in districts that went for Trump in 2016 — and they want to keep those seats in 2020.
On one side, progressives ran on promises of impeaching Trump, abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising the minimum wage and “Medicare-for-all.”
Moderates, on the other hand, promised to prioritize small businesses, tweak the existing health care system, and work with Republicans and Trump when they can.
As the 2020 presidential election nears, and Democrats try to decide what kind of candidate they want to run, don’t expect these new voices to stay quiet.
This story has been updated to reflect additional developments from Thursday.
CNN’s Eli Watkins contributed to this report.
Source : Nbcnewyork