US midterm elections: In a first, two Muslim women elected to Congress on Democrat tickets
Democrats and presidential prospects Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been declared winners.
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women ever to be elected to the United States Congress, reports said on Wednesday. Omar represents a seat in Minnesota and Tlaib in Michigan. The counting of votes case in Tuesday’s midterm polls is still going on.
Two native American women have also been elected to Congress. Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids, who is also openly gay, won a seat, The Kansas City Star reported. Democrat candidate Deb Haaland won in New Mexico.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old from New York, was projected to become the youngest-ever Congresswoman, while Ayanna Pressley was elected Massachusetts’ first black Congresswoman. Democrat Jared Polis was projected to become the governor of Colorado. If he wins, he will be the first openly gay man to be a governor in the country.
The poll results will determine if President Donald Trump’s Republican Party is able to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. According to projections based on exit polls and early returns, Democratic challengers have toppled Republicans in at least 15 closely-watched seats and are on course to gain control of the House, reported The Washington Post. The projections show Republicans will retain control of the Senate, and could even increase their majority after winning close races in Indiana, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
Republicans currently hold the majority in both the legislative chambers. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to win control of the House but are at a disadvantage in the Senate, where a number of incumbents are defending their seats in states where Trump won the presidential polls.
Citizens have cast their votes to elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats.
Democratic Party candidates and United States presidential prospects Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren won seats to the Senate, AP reported. Republican Mike Braun won the Indiana seat.
The midterm elections are being considered a referendum on the Donald Trump administration. Polling on Tuesday was marred by long queues and malfunctioning voting machines in some areas.