November third of last week was very gay—historically so. In fact, the 2026 midterms saw the most Democratic election wins in over 50 years! I, along with so many others, am a lot less scared to go home this winter. As a Talafreako myself, I can finally openly admit that I am from Texas. For the first time in a long time, I am proud of where I came from, and to say that I’m a Texan. Blexas is real! Breaking an almost 40-year red streak, with more Democratic votes for Senator Talarico than any democratic presidential nominee since 2016, Talarico had more early votes than Republican runner Ken Paxton had in total. As Talerico said in his victory speech that night, “We just took back Texas!” Governor Gina Hinojosa pulled an even more shocking win, defeating 12-year-long Governor Greg Abbot to become the state's first Latina governor.
Texas is joined by Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, and Maine as historically red states that have been newly flipped Democratic, with Alaska leaning Democratic but still too close to call. In this election, we voted our way to a lot of firsts: the 2026 midterms had the second-highest voter turnout ratio since 1914, second only to the 2018 midterms according to political scientist Michael McDonald. So, in my excitement and awe at this wave of participation in democracy, this week’s Something Gay is all of those firsts.
Florida elected its first Black governor, Republican Bryan Donals. After 83 years of White men, Georgia elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is not only the first Black woman to be elected as governor in the U.S, but the first person of color to ever be elected as Governor of Georgia. After an incredibly close race, Mississippi was finally called on November 11 for Democrat Scott Colom. He will be Mississippi's first Black senator since the Reconstruction era! We’ve gone from three elected Black governors over the course of the U.S.’s 250-year history to electing five in one election, and this blue wave will likely mean the first Black speaker of the house. Wisconsin elected their first Black governor, David Crowley, and Nevada elected their first Black attorney general, Aaron Ford. With the reelection of Wes Moore in Maryland, there will be five Black governors serving simultaneously this term.
In New Mexico, Deb Haaland will become the first Native American woman to serve as governor, and Mary Peltola the first Alaska Native senator as a Yup’ik woman. Michigan elected the first Muslim Senator in the U.S., Abdul El-Sayed, and as he pointed out in his victory speech “JD, habibi, there is this delicious irony in the fact that you’re constitutionally obligated to swear me in in January.” California elected Xavier Becerra, their first Latino governor since Romualdo Pacheco in 1875, and Texas their first Latina governor, Gina Hinojosa. The two biggest states now have Hispanic representatives. In Illinois, Juliana Stratton is the current Lieutenant Governor and will succeed retiring Senator Dick Durbin, and with Tammy Duckworth, a Thai woman, currently serving as senator, there will be two female senators of color representing the state.
There have also been firsts in the queer community this midterm season. The first openly gay man to be elected as a U.S. Senator, Chris Pappas, was also elected last week in New Hampshire. Alison Montgomery became the first trans woman elected legislator, flipping the very republican house district in Alabama! Lastly, this has been a record breaking year for women vying for state or federal offices as well with Republican Marsha Blackburn becoming the first woman elected as senator in Tennessee. Nearly 300 women ran for the U.S. Senate and House, as documented by Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics in the 2026 Midterms.