U.S. House of Representatives, Arkansas’ 2nd District

If State Senator Joyce Elliott were to win her race for Arkansas’ 2nd Congressional District, she would be the first Black lawmaker to represent Arkansas in Congress. She was only the second person of color to graduate from her high school, and a public school teacher for 30 years. In the state legislature, Senator Elliott fought for educational equity, reproductive rights, environmental protections, and immigrant rights.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 55

Felicia Brabec is a mental health practitioner and the longest-serving Washtenaw County Commissioner with eight years of service. She is a fierce advocate of LGBTQ rights, justice reform, access to health care, environmental protections, education equality, and economic justice. She led the effort to develop, pass, and implement Washtenaw County’s first Racial Equity Policy.

Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, California

State Senator Holly Mitchell is a state senator and has served her community by advocating for health and economic justice. She has authored bills addressing housing discrimination, economic inequity, and bias in health care. Notably, Senator Mitchell drafted and sponsored SB 188, known as the CROWN Act, which banned natural hair discrimination by employers and public education institutions.

Florida House of Representatives, District 70

Michele Rayner is a civil rights attorney known for taking on racial and social justice cases, including the case of Markeis McGlockton, a 28-year-old unarmed black man who was shot and killed in a convenience store parking lot in 2018. She won her primary and has no Republican challenger in the general election. She will be the first Black LGBTQ woman elected to the Florida Legislature.

Pima County Recorder, Arizona

Educator, voting rights activist, and member of the Tohono O’odham Nation, Gabriella Cázares-Kelly was motivated to run for the office that oversees elections in Pima County because of the Recorder’s long resistance to expanding voter access, particularly for Indian Country and disenfranchised voters. Gabriella champions solutions such as ballot text message receipts, ballot drop boxes, expansion of early voting, and attention to the needs of tribal communities, the Latinx community, seniors, and the deaf community, and persons with disabilities.

U.S. Senate, Idaho

Paulette Jordan is a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and if elected, would be the state’s first woman and first Indigenous U.S. senator. In 2014, Jordan unseated an incumbent Republican to win a seat in the Idaho House of Representatives. She won another term before leaving the Legislature in 2018 to run for Governor. She became the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Idaho, the first woman nominated to the position by a major party in Idaho, and the first Indigenous woman nominated for governor in U.S. history.

U.S. House of Representatives, New Mexico’s 3rd District

Teresa Leger Fernandez stands to become the first Latina elected to represent New Mexico’s 3rd district, the center of the state’s deep Latinx culture. She defeated former C.I.A. operative Valerie Plame in the Democratic Primary, who was nationally known and better-funded. She has vowed to work to move the nation to clean, renewable energy and supports better health care access and reduced prescription prices. If Teresa is elected, New Mexico will have the largest all women or women of color Congressional delegation in U.S history.

New York City Council (2021 Election)

Elisa Crespo is an out transgender aide to Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. and announced her candidacy for New York City Council in June 2020. If elected, she would be the first trans city lawmaker and the first LGBTQ woman elected to office in the Bronx. Her motivation to run stems from growing up in poverty and the adversities she faced as a sex worker in her teens. She has since earned a college degree, interned for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and the City Council, and is currently an education liaison overseeing efforts to help special needs students requiring special education services.

U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia’s 5th District

Nikema Williams is a state senator who was chosen to replace the late Congressman John Lewis on the November ballot. If elected, she will be the first Black woman to serve the Atlanta-area district in Congress. After years working for Planned Parenthood, she won a seat in the state Senate during a special election. In 2019, she became the first Black woman to chair the state's Democratic Party.

Washington D.C. City Council

Janeese Lewis George is a third generation Wasingtonian, who started her career as an assistant district attorney. She is running to represent Ward 4 in Washington D.C., an area that grapples with a housing crisis and transit equity challenges. Her focus issues include: affordable housing, affordable child care, quality public education, crime prevention and community safety, and an inclusive economy.

U.S. House of Representatives, Missouri’s 1st District

Cori Bush was propelled into politics and activism by Michael Brown’s murder by police and the ensuing protests in Ferguson. She worked as a triage nurse and organizer during the protests. She defeated Rep. Lacy Clay in the 2020 primary, after losing to him in 2018. In this solidly blue district and home to Ferguson, she is now almost assuredly on her way to becoming the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.

Delaware House of Representatives, District 26

Madinah Wilson-Anton, a 27 year-old progressive and former legislative aide who defeated the longtime incumbent by 43 votes in her primary, is on track to become the first Muslim American elected to Delaware’s General Assembly. She has vowed to push for public school funding, criminal justice reform, and affordable health care.

Pennsylvania Auditor General

If elected, Dr. Nina Ahmad would be the first woman of color to hold a statewide executive office in Pennsylvania’s history, and the only woman and only person of color holding a Pennsylvania executive office. She immigrated to the United States when she was 21 from Bangladesh. As a young adult starting a new life in a new country, Ahmad put herself through college and graduate school. She pursued a career as a molecular biologist and entrepreneur while also becoming a civic leader and advocate. Her policy priorities include increasing accountability, increased transparency on sexual harassment in government, lowering costs of pharmaceuticals, and using the office to provide data and allocate resources for lawmakers to pass gun safety legislation.

U.S. House of Representatives, Texas’ 24th District

If elected, Candace Valenzuela would not only be the first Afro-Latina in Congress, she would flip a seat that has been red since 2004. Both of Valenzuela’s parents were U.S. Army veterans. After her mother’s departure from the military, her family met financial struggles, including housing insecurity and a period of homelessness. Valenzuela has promoted policies calling for a public health insurance option and automatic government assistance for any household that makes under $50,000 annually. She has also vowed not to accept corporate political action committee money and promised to promote early childhood education.

U.S. Senate, Tennessee

Marquita Bradshaw is an environmental activist and organizer with the Sierra Club and a full-time caregiver for special needs adults. She raised $8,000 in the first quarter of her primary against James Mackler who raised $2 million overall — and she won. Her focus issues include: Medicare for All, increased spending on public education, support for the Green New Deal, a $15 minimum wage, universal background checks for gun owners, and the legalization of recreational marijuana. If elected, Bradshaw would be the first Democrat representing Tennessee in the U.S. Senate since Al Gore. She made history as the first Black woman to be nominated for a statewide office in Tennessee.

Texas House of Representatives, District 138

After making major gains in the 2018 midterm elections,Texas Democrats are nine seats away from flipping the State House blue. One of their great hopes is Akilah Bacy who is running in an open seat that went Republican by just 47 votes in 2018. Akilah began her career as an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. She later focused on defending primarily indigent people of Texas, and advocating for those who find themselves a victim of employment discrimination. Her community work includes serving as a pro-bono immigration attorney for children seeking asylum in the United States borders.

North Las Vegas Justice Court Department 3, Nevada

Belinda Harris is currently a Chief Deputy Public Defender in Clark County, Nevada, who is an outspoken advocate for equity in the criminal justice system. She was arrested while taking part in a peaceful protest as a legal observer in Las Vegas this summer and spoke out against police officers’ treatment of her and others at the protest.

Wisconsin State Assembly, District 76

Francesca Hong won a crowded primary for Wisconsin State Assembly in a blue district, essentially securing her election and making her the first Asian American legislator in the state. She is the daughter of immigrants and a small business owner, whose focus issues include social, racial and economic justice.

Mayor of Richmond, Virginia

If elected, Rodgers would be the first openly LGBTQ mayor of Richmond, and the first woman elected to the seat. Her work includes advocating for the Black LGBTQ community in Richmond, as well as fighting for health care access, labor and housing rights, and workplace protections for LGBTQ people across Virginia.

Georgia State Senate, District 48

Michelle Au is a medical doctor, mother of three, and the daughter of Chinese immigrants. Her campaign is focused on three core issues: access to quality healthcare, access to education and improving transportation access. If elected, she will be the first Asian American woman to serve as a state senator in Georgia.