Here are some of the candidates who made history on Election Day in 2022
History was made across the country on Election Day with newly-elected candidates who will break new ground in office. From Maryland's first Black governor, to the first openly lesbian governor in the country, to the first Gen Z Democrat elected to Congress, here is a list of some Election Day history-makers.
Wes Moore
Moore, projected to be Maryland's new governor-elect, will become the state's first Black governor. The Democrat is also just the third Black man to be elected governor in U.S. history, after Douglas Wilder was elected Virginia governor in 1989 and Deval Patrick was elected Massachusetts governor in 2006. Other Black men have served as governor in various states, but they assumed office after the elected governor resigned.
Maura Healey
Maura Healey made history in two ways with her projected win in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. She's the first woman elected as the state's governor and the first openly lesbian governor in U.S. history. The Democrat was the first openly gay attorney general elected in the country in 2014. (Two decades ago, Jane Swift served as the state's acting governor, but she was appointed, not elected.)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders is projected to win the Arkansas gubernatorial race, making her the first woman elected governor in that state. She is also one of the most high-profile former Trump administration officials to win election; she served as White House press secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Her father, Mike Huckabee, also served as governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
Maxwell Frost
Democrat Maxwell Frost is projected to win Florida's 10th Congressional District race, making him the first Democratic member of Congress from Gen Z and the first Afro-Cubano to head to Congress.
Becca Balint
Vermont has never elected a woman to Congress — until now. Democrat Becca Balint was projected by CBS News to win the state's only House seat, defeating Republican challenger Liam Madden.
Vermont has 75 women currently serving in its state legislature, but Balint made history as the first woman, and the first openly LGBTQ person, elected to represent it in Congress.
Alex Padilla
Incumbent Sen. Alex Padilla became the first Latino in California to be elected to the Senate. Padilla was appointed senator by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020, filling the role vacated by Vice President Kamala Harris. In the race for his first full term, CBS News projected Padilla the winner, defeating Republican challenger Mark Meuser.
