Election Day was filled with extreme highs and lows, which is always possible with American democracy. While Vice President Kamala Harris did not secure the presidency, several Black candidates nationwide made history with their elections. In the Senate, House and Mayoral races, new Black officials will be taking office in 2025
Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester became the first woman and Black person to represent Delaware in the Senate. She defeated Republican Eric Hansen and Independent candidate Mike Katz. Currently, in her fourth term in the House, Rochester was already the first woman and the first Black person to represent the state in Congress.
Speaking to her supporters, Rochester paid tribute to the Black women who were elected to the U.S. Senate before her.
“As I prepare to step foot on that trail blazed by the three strong Black women senators who came before us—Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, Vice President Kamala Harris and Senator Laphonza Butler—I have a message to the young people who are standing up, speaking up and giving your all for our country and the world,” she said. “I see you, I’m grateful for you, and you’ve got next.”
Democrat Angela Alsobrooks defeated former Maryland Republican Governor Larry Hogan in the Maryland Senate race. She will take the seat of Democratic Senator. Ben Cardin, who left office after serving three terms in the upper chamber. Before her election to the Senate, she served as Prince George’s County Executive.
In her victory speech, Alsobrooks expressed the significance of the historic moment.
“It’s remarkable to think that in two years, America will celebrate its 250th birthday,” Alsobrooks said during a victory speech Tuesday evening. “And in all those years, there have been more than 2,000 people who have served in the United States Senate. Only three have looked like me.”
“And so I want to salute all those who came before me, who made it possible for me to stand on this stage tonight, whose sacrifices and stories I will continue to carry with me,” she continued.
With their victories, Rochester and Alsobrooks join Democrat Senators: Laphonza Butler of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia as the only Black senators in the upper chamber.
In Alabama’s newly drawn 2nd Congressional District, Shomari Figures was elected to the House. A former official in the Biden administration and a native of Mobile, he defeated nominee Caroleene Dobson.
He paid tribute to his mother, Alabama Senator Vivian Davis Figures, in his victory speech.
“We were 14, 11, and 7 at the time my father died, and she kept it going in more ways than one, and she raised a very talkative and energetic and not-so-well-behaved, opinionated little boy and the next congressman from the state of Alabama,” Figures said.
He also said that one of his major goals is to expand healthcare services to his constituency.
“I still need that help to represent these communities and what we call District 2 in the best effective way and the most effective way that we possibly can and so, we know what’s at stake,” he added.
Monroe Nichols was elected as the first Black mayor of Tulsa. He defeated Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith in a runoff race. Before his victory, Nichols served as a State Representative for House District 72 (Tulsa, Turley, and Owasso) since 2016.
Nichols pledged to be an inclusive leader as he addressed his supporters after his victory.
“We’re not going to be a city that marks time. We may not always agree on a pathway to greatness, but we will always be united in our commitment to get there, and I will be an honest leader,” Nichols said.
Former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown will be Washington’s first Black state attorney. Brown, a Democrat, defeated Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano, a Republican. Brown previously served as Governor Jay Inslee’s general counsel and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District in Washington.
Addressing a watch party of Democrats at the Seattle Convention Center, Brown pledged to defend “your civil rights, your rights to an abortion, your environmental protections.”
“There is so much for me to build upon from the work that Bob and his team have done to defend the rights of Washingtonians,” Brown said. “I plan on picking up that baton in the days ahead.”
