The 2020 general election has been a historic one in terms of "firsts" for more diverse lawmakers -- it also saw a record-breaking number of candidates of Native American heritage win their congressional races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Six Indigenous candidates won their House races, which means the chamber will now have the most Native lawmakers ever serving at a time. Four of them are returning members.
Democrats Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member representing New Mexico, and Sharice Davids, a Ho-Chunk Nation member representing Kansas, both retained their seats after becoming the first Native American women elected to Congress, in 2018. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) of Chickasaw Nation also won reelection on Tuesday, as did Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) of Cherokee Nation.
New members will include Republican Yvette Herrell, who unseated Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico's 2nd Congressional District. It's the second time they've competed for the seat; Herrell ran against Torres Small in 2018 and narrowly lost.
The other new member is Democrat Kaiali'i "Kai" Kahele, who won his race for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District. The seat was vacated by former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who launched an unsuccessful bid for president. Kahele is only the second Native Hawaiian to represent Hawaii in Congress since it became a state in 1959. The first was the late Sen. Daniel Akaka (D). Kahele has served in the Hawaii Senate since 2016.
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