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Diversity wins: All the people who made history in the 2018 midterm elections

Ilhan Omar
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AP

Hayes, the 2016 national teacher of the year, won Connecticut's 5th District with a projected 56% of the vote, beating the Republican Manny Santos, with 44% of the vote.

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Hayes will succeed Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty, who didn't run for reelection.

Hayes grew up in a housing project, and her mother struggled with drug addiction, The Associated Press reported . Hayes got pregnant at 17 and considered dropping out of school but then enrolled in community college and went on to earn a bachelor's degree and, later, advanced degrees. She campaigned on strengthening the public-education system.

Associated Press/David Zalubowski

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Polis, a Democratic representative, is projected to win the Colorado gubernatorial race against the Republican Walker Stapleton.

"I think it really gives Colorado an opportunity to stick a thumb in the eye of Mike Pence, whose view of America is not as inclusive as where America is today," Polis said of his candidacy in a speech earlier this year.

AP

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Escobar, an El Paso County judge, won Texas' 16th District with 68% of the vote.

Garcia, a Democratic state senator, beat the GOP candidate Phillip Aronoff in the 29th District, which covers Houston, with 75% of the vote.

About 40% of Texans are Hispanic or Latino , but voters had never elected a Latina woman to either chamber of Congress until now.

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AP

Pressley, a Democrat, ran unopposed in Massachusetts' 7th District after beating the 10-term Rep. Michael Capuano by 17 points in the primary on September 4.

After she won, Pressley said women of color have had to create " seismic shifts " to get into office.

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Al Goldis/AP

Tlaib and Ilhan Omar became the first Muslim women elected to Congress , both winning seats in the House.

Tlaib is set to represent Michigan's 13th District.

The progressive Democrat, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, was also the first Muslim woman in Michigan's Legislature.

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Reuters

Omar, who came to the US as a refugee in 1995, is set to represent Minnesota's 5th District after winning 78% of the vote.

Tlaib and Omar campaigned together earlier this year.

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Charlie Riedel, File via AP

Davids, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, won big in Kansas' 3rd District on Tuesday night, defeating the four-term Republican incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder.

Davids, who is also a lesbian, will be the first openly LGBTQ person to represent Kansas in Congress.

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AP

Haaland won the seat left vacant by Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who on Tuesday won the state's governorship.

Haaland defeated the Republican Janice Arnold-Jones in New Mexico's 1st District with 59% of the vote.

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AP

Taylor Swift couldn't stop Marsha Blackburn from defeating the Democrat Phil Bredesen comfortably in the race for Tennessee's Senate seat.

Blackburn is projected to win with 55% of the vote, while Bredesen received 44%.

Swift had said in a high-profile Instagram post that Blackburn's voting record "terrified" her, and she endorsed Bredesen.

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AP

Kim, a Republican, looks to have won California's 39th District, with about 52% of the vote as of Wednesday morning.

It's a close race though, as her Democratic challenger, Gil Cisneros, has about 48% of the vote so far.

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Lou Leon Guerrero campaign website

Leon Guerrero, the president of the Bank of Guam, beat the Republican Ray Tenorio with a projected 51% of the vote to become Guam's first female governor.

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Jae C. Hong/AP

Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat, will represent New York's 14th District.

After her shocking victory over longtime Rep. Joe Crowley in New York's Democratic primary in June, Ocasio-Cortez quickly became a recognizable figure for the party nationwide.

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AP

Finkenauer, a Democrat, beat the Republican Rod Blum with a projected 51% of the vote in Iowa's 1st District on Tuesday.

Finkenauer and Cindy Axne, who defeated the Republican David Young in Iowa's 3rd District, are the first women in Iowa's history to be elected to the US House of Representatives.

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Matt York/AP

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema will be the first openly bisexual senator in US history after a big win in Arizona against her Republican opponent Martha McSally.

She'll also be the state's first female senator, and the first Democrat to be elected as a senator in Arizona in roughly 30 years.

"As long as Ive served Arizona, Ive worked to help others see our common humanity & find common ground," Sinema said in a tweet celebrating her victory. "That's the same approach Ill take to representing our great state in the Senate, where Ill be an independent voice for all Arizonans."

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See Also:

SEE ALSO: 13 records the 2018 midterm elections smashed

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