Congress

Minority Candidates Break Glass Ceiling in National, State, County Races

Although Hillary Clinton wasn’t able to become the country’s first female president Tuesday, a handful of minority candidates were able to score groundbreaking victories in her home state.

Although Hillary Clinton wasn’t able to become the country’s first female president Tuesday, a handful of minority candidates were able to score groundbreaking victories in her home state.

Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth easily defeated Republican incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk Tuesday, making her the first Thai-American elected to the U.S. Senate, according to Cosmopolitan. In 2012, Duckworth became the first Asian-American woman Illinois elected to Congress, NBC News reports.

Duckworth was elected to the Senate alongside fellow Democrat Kamala Harris of California, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent - making her only the second black woman elected to the U.S. Senate after Illinois' Carol Moseley Braun.

Harris and Duckworth join Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, the first Asian-American ever elected to the Senate. As a result, the next U.S. Senate will have the most Asian-American women ever, according to NBC News.

Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi beat out his Republican challenger, Pete DiCianni, in the race for Duckworth’s soon-to-be-vacated 8th congressional district House seat, becoming the first Indian-American congressman from Illinois, according to the Chicago Tribune.

A pair of fellow Indian-American Democrats, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Ro Khanna of California, were also elected to the House Tuesday. They will join sitting Indian-American Rep. Ami Bera in Congress, according to the Tribune. Bera is also a Democrat.

Meanwhile, Democratic Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza became the first Hispanic person to independently win a statewide office in Illinois after besting incumbent Republican Comptroller Leslie Munger, according to the State Journal-Register. Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti was previously elected alongside Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2014.

Additionally, Democrat Kim Foxx beat out Republican challenger Chris Pfannkuche in the Cook County State’s Attorney race Tuesday. This puts Foxx in line to become the county’s first African-American state’s attorney, replacing embattled incumbent Anita Alvarez, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Alvarez, who came under fire for her handling of the Laquan McDonald case, was the first female and first Hispanic to serve as Cook County state’s attorney, according to the Chicago Tribune.

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