The midterm elections produced a set of firsts that stretch from a state capitol to the floor of the United States Senate to the governments of two tribal nations. Voters elected the first Native American woman to govern a state, the first to sit in the Senate, and the first women chosen to lead the Navajo Nation and the Seneca Nation.
They were part of a much wider result. At least 75 Native women, non binary and Two Spirit candidates won offices across the country, according to a count by Advance Native Political Leadership and the news organization ICT. In all, 363 Indigenous candidates ran for office this year, and at least 180 of them won.
In New Mexico, Deb Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo and a former secretary of the interior, won the governor’s race. The Associated Press called the race for her, and her Republican opponent, Gregg Hull, conceded. She is the first Native American woman elected governor of any state.
In Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation and the state’s lieutenant governor, won a seat in the United States Senate, defeating Republican Michele Tafoya. She is the first Native American woman elected to the Senate.
In the Navajo Nation, one of the largest tribal nations in the country, unofficial results from the Navajo Election Administration show Crystalyne Curley ahead of Justin Jones, 32,094 votes to 30,979. If the result is certified, she will be the first woman to lead the Navajo Nation. Jones disputes the count and has said he will challenge the result, so that outcome is not yet final.
In western New York, Tina Abrams was elected president of the Seneca Nation, the first woman to hold the office under the nation’s constitutional government. Voters also chose Lenith Waterman as treasurer and Bethany Johnson as clerk, giving the nation its first all women elected executive branch.
More results were still open days after the vote, including former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez’s House rematch in Arizona and Mary Peltola’s Senate race in Alaska. What is already clear is the shape of the day. On a single election day, voters at the tribal, state and federal levels chose Native women to lead them, in several cases for the first time in their history.
Transparency note: Results are as reported by The Associated Press, ICT and the Navajo Election Administration. The Navajo Nation figures are unofficial and are being challenged by the losing candidate.
