Voters in several states headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots on hot-button issues and usher in a new slate of political leaders ahead of 2024. Across the country, a handful of those elected made history with their wins. Women, in particular, seized quite a few historic firsts.
Here are some of the biggest history-making women from Election Day.
Cherelle Parker
After 100 election cycles, Philadelphia has elected its first female mayor. The race was called for Democrat Cherelle Parker shortly after the polls closed on Tuesday. Parker was favored to beat out Republican David Oh to replace term-limited Mayor Jim Kenney in the Democratic stronghold city, which hasn’t seen a Republican mayor since 1952.
Parker is a longtime public servant and spent ten years as a state representative before being elected to the Philadelphia City Council in 2015. She defeated five other Democratic candidates in a crowded primary in May.
In her victory speech, Parker recounted her upbringing as the daughter of a single teenage mother raised by grandparents, saying, “My life should be a textbook case study on how you turn pain into power.”
Lily Wu
In Wichita, Lily Wu defeated incumbent Brandon Whipple, paving the way for her to become the city’s first Asian American mayor. The race itself was nonpartisan, but due to her registered Libertarian status, Wu’s victory has been deemed one of the biggest wins for the Libertarian Party on Election Day.
Wu is a political newcomer who spent 12 years as a local news reporter. In her acceptance speech, she described Wichita as the “best city in America” where “an 8-year-old immigrant who didn’t speak English can now stand before you, tonight, a 39-year-old woman, mayor-elect.”
Connie Boesen
In Des Moines, Connie Boesen won the race for mayor, becoming the first woman elected for the job. Boesen ran against fellow Des Moines City Councilmember Josh Mandelbaum. She earned the endorsement of current mayor Frank Cownie, who has held the job for 20 years.
Boesen has served on the Des Moines City Council since 2018 as an at-large councilmember and was on the city’s school board from 2003 to 2017.
Sara Innamorato
Former state representative Sara Innamorato will become the first woman to lead Pittsburg’s Allegheny County following her win. The Democrat edged out her opponent, Republican Joe Rockey, securing the seat currently occupied by term-limited Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who has held the job for 12 years.
The tight contest was followed nationally and considered by some to be a “barometer of the national mood” looking ahead to 2024.
Rue Landau
Civil rights attorney Rue Landau also made history in Philadelphia alongside Parker when she was elected to an at-large city council seat. The Democrat will be the council’s first openly LGBTQ+ member.
Landau is a former director of the city’s Commission of Human Relations and Fair Housing. She previously made history in 2014 when she and her wife, Kerry, obtained the first same-sex marriage license issued in the state of Pennsylvania.
Landau celebrated the win at a bar in the city’s Gayborhood telling supporters, “I can’t believe it has taken Philly this long to get here. We have been beaten by Harrisburg and Reading, and Gainesville, Florida, and we are about to finally make a mark on history and I am so honored to be the one to make that happen.”
Danica Roem
Virginia Democrat Danica Roem will become the state’s first openly transgender state senator. She is only the second out transgender person to be elected to any state Senate in the United States, following Sarah McBride, who won in Delaware in 2020. Roem beat Republican Bill Woolf III for the 30th District Senate seat in a close race that played a role in helping Democrats take control of the state legislature.
Roem previously made history as the first transgender member of the Virginia General Assembly, where she served in the House of Delegates following a career as a journalist.
Luanne Peterpaul
In New Jersey, Democrat Luanne Peterpaul became the first openly LBGTQ+ woman elected to the state Legislature after winning the 11th District contest. Peterpaul’s win flipped a seat, helping Democrats retain control of majorities in the state Legislature.
Peterpaul is a former Monmouth County prosecutor and former board chair for Garden State Equality, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
Read the full article here
