Hyderabad-origin Nabeela Syed wins amid string of historic firsts

Democrat Nabeela Syed, of Hyderabad origin, has made history once again by winning a seat in the Illinois State Senate, amid a series of historic midterm firsts.

Defeating Republican incumbent Darby Hills, the 27-year-old will be representing residents of the 26th Senate district in the upper chamber of the state general assembly. Born to parents from Hyderabad who immigrated to the US in the 1980s, she first won election to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2022, fresh out of college, and was re-elected in 2024.

For Nabeela, being a politician is making sure everyone feels like they belong. “The day Trump got elected, I remember I cried in every single one of my classes,” she told NBC News during her first win. “I felt like this country was not for us. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I belong here.’ This is the only home I’ve ever known, and I was questioning whether or not I belonged here.”

“It’s important for me, growing up in this community and knowing what it feels like to not belong, to make sure everyone feels like they do belong,” she said. 

Syed was not the only Democrat breaking ground during the election cycle as Democrats took control of Congress in a sweeping rejection of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, or Grand Old Party (GOP). The visible disapproval reached deep into Republican territory as Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats.

Abdul El-Sayed

Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers with about 50.88 per cent of the vote, becoming the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate. He declared candidacy in April 2025 and has steadily gained prominence, with videos of his sharp responses taking the internet by storm.

An outspoken critic of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and US military aid to the country, he said if Democrats secured a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, they must hold Trump accountable and work towards an end to the war.

Addressing the historic significance of his candidacy, he said before the election: “I’m not running to be the first Muslim senator in American history, but to be Michigan’s next senator.”

First Palestinian to win New York Senate seat

Aber Kawas became the first Palestinian American to represent the New York State Legislature, after winning the District 12 Senate seat. Her victory also makes her the first hijab-wearing woman elected to the state legislature. She secured 75 per cent of the vote, with 90 per cent of ballots counted when The New York Times called the race on Tuesday, November 3.

Taking to X after her victory, Kawas wrote: ‘We made history. ’

Hakeem Jeffries poised to become first Black speaker of the House

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on the cusp of making history as the nation’s first Black Speaker of the House, a generational shift in US politics after Democrats trounced Republicans to win majority control of the chamber in the midterm elections.

Jeffries faces a vote of his colleagues when the new Congress convenes January 3. If nominated and elected, as expected, it would be the first time a Black lawmaker has grasped the powerful House speaker’s gavel, a job second in line to the president and the only leadership position in Congress mandated by the US Constitution.

His rise to the speakership at the nation’s domed Capitol, which enslaved African Americans helped build, would be a milestone more than 150 years in the making, tracing an arc of history that began with the first Black American elected to the US House in the turbulent era of Reconstruction after the Civil War.

Jeffries was met with cheers of “Speaker! Speaker!” at the Democrats’ watch party in Washington.

The president has publicly and privately taunted Jeffries, who has served in Congress since 2013 and is the highest-ranking Black elected official in America. Trump once mocked Jeffries by posting on social media a fake photo of the Democratic leader wearing a sombrero outside the White House.

Keisha Lance Bottoms: First Black woman ever elected governor

Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected governor of Georgia, a landmark victory that made her the first Black woman to be elected governor in the United States, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson and flipping the top job in a key swing state.

Met with chants of “Keisha! Keisha!” as she took the stage at her victory party in Atlanta, Bottoms called her campaign a victory for all Georgians, from teachers to farmers to entrepreneurs.

“No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia,” Bottoms said. “Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, DC.”

Texas’ first Latina governor Gina Hinojosa

Gina Hinojosa was elected the first Democratic governor of Texas in more than 30 years, ousting Republican incumbent Greg Abbott and catapulting a decided underdog to the helm of what has long been the nation’s most populous red state.

She will become Texas’ first Latina governor, and the first Democrat to hold the office since Ann Richards in the 1990s, following a groundbreaking victory that topples one of the nation’s most prominent Republican governors and steadfast supporters of President Donald Trump, possibly accelerating the state’s shift to an emerging battleground.

Hinojosa’s win served as validation for Democrats’ long-deferred dream that demographic changes in the state would be followed by a shift in political power. It also elevated Hinojosa, a 52-year-old state legislator from a liberal Austin district since 2017, into a breakout Democratic star, even as she did not have significant support from the national party for her campaign.

(With inputs from AP)

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