Democrats' sweep in the 2026 midterm elections will seat a Senate class in January that includes the chamber's first Muslim member, its first Paralympian, its first Native American woman and its first openly gay man.
The results reshaped Congress. With some races still uncalled, Democrats have picked up seven Senate seats and flipped more than 40 in the House, enough to control both chambers.
El-Sayed, the first Muslim elected to the Senate, defeated Republican Mike Rogers in a hotly contested race. The son of Egyptian immigrants, he is an epidemiologist who once served as Detroit's health director.
Turek, a Democrat, beat Republican Ashley Hinson to become the first Paralympian in the chamber. He won two gold medals in wheelchair basketball and is paraplegic, using a wheelchair because of spina bifida.
Flanagan, Minnesota's Democratic lieutenant governor and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, will be the first Native American woman in the Senate. She was previously the first woman of color elected to state office in Minnesota, and she will replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.
Pappas, who served four terms in the House, defeated Republican John Sununu in New Hampshire. He becomes the first openly gay man elected to the Senate and the first gay man to represent his state.
One of election night's biggest upsets came in deep-red South Carolina, where Andrews, running as an underdog, became the first woman the state has elected to the Senate. She beat Darline Graham, who had been appointed to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican nominee Ken Paxton, making him the first Democrat the state has sent to the Senate since 1988.
Kansas went even longer without one. Adam Hamilton, who ousted incumbent Republican Roger Marshall in a tough race, will be the state's first Democratic senator since 1932.
Not every first belongs to Democrats. Republican Letlow, who in 2021 became the first Republican woman Louisiana elected to the U.S. House, will now be the state's first Republican woman in the Senate. She won her House seat in a special election after her husband, Rep. Luke Letlow, died of COVID-19 in 2020, and she reached the Senate by beating Sen. Bill Cassidy in the primary.
