New Mexico Becomes the First State to Elect All Women of Color to the House

Christopher Luu
·3 min read

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib have all won their re-election races.

While uncertainty is the only certainty right now, there is some good news to report from last night's election: the great state of New Mexico is the first state, ever, to elect all women of color to the House of Representatives. The three women announced their victories early on Wednesday morning, and the state confirmed the news.

"We knew that that was going to be an all-female delegation because there were six major party candidates who were all women running, so no matter how the race came out, you were going to have an all-female delegation," Nancy Cordes, chief congressional correspondent at CBS News, said on Wednesday morning.

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Representative Deb Haaland, the Democratic incumbent and a member of the Pueblo Tribe, won reelection to her seat against challenger Garcia Holmes. Haaland made history back in 2018 when she became one of the first Native American women elected to Congress.

"Tonight the people of New Mexico have chosen hope over fear, love over hate, community over division, and I am so honored that New Mexicans have chosen me to serve in our nation's 117th Congress," Haaland wrote on Tuesday night.

Republican Yvette Herrell, of the Cherokee nation, won her race against incumbent Democratic Representative Xochitl Torres Small in the state's 2nd Congressional District.

"It's the honor of my life to be elected to serve #NM02," Herrell tweeted after her win. "My commitment to each citizen of our district is that I will serve each of them with integrity as we work together to rebuild our economy and protect the values that make America great!"

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Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez bested her opponent, Republican Alexis Johnson, for the state's 3rd Congressional District. Fernandez replaces Democratic Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who won the state's open Senate seat.

"The people of New Mexico have chosen to protect what we love — our democracy, our planet, our families and communities, our health care and our future," Leger Fernandez tweeted. "With this victory, I promise you I will take the courageous action that this historic moment demands. Muchísimas gracias!"