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New Mexico becomes first state to elect all women of color to the House

The state was one of a number of historic moments across the country in Tuesday's election.
Credit: AP

NEW MEXICO, USA — In the 2020 election, New Mexico became the first state in the U.S. to elect all women of color to its House delegation.

CBS News reported that three women announced wins in their districts early Wednesday. The state's results later confirmed the races won by Yvette Herrell, Teresa Leger Fernandez and Deb Haaland.

Haaland is the Democratic incumbent for District 1 and in 2018 made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress. A member of the Pueblo Tribe, she beat challenger Garcia Holmes in the 2020 election.

Fernandez, a Democratic, beat challenger Republican Alexis Johnson for District 3. She'll replace Rep. Ben Ray Luján, who won an open Senate seat.

Republican Yvette Herrell won the District 2 seat from incumbent Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small. Herrell is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

"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 have an all-female delegation," CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes said Wednesday morning.  

The election in New Mexico was one of several historic firsts from around the country in the 2020 election.

In Delaware, Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender state senator in history. That also makes her the highest-ranking transgender official in the U.S.

Democrats Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres became the first two openly gay Black men elected to Congress from New York. Cori Bush was the first Black woman elected to Congress in Missouri.

North Carolina's Madison Cawthorn, 25, will be the youngest member of Congress -- taking the record from Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected in 2018 at 29 years old.

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