RECAP: 2018 Elections Victories, Losses and Caribbean Winners!

In one of the most nerve-wrecking Midterm Elections the country has seen, the Democrats have regained control the House of Representatives, while the Republicans now have an expanded rule over the Senate.

With major wins being celebrated, there were also many disappointments; primarily Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial races. Florida’s hope for Governor, Gillum, seemingly lost by an unbelievable 1%! In his trademark way, Gillum gentlemanly conceded the night of the elections. Watch his emotional speech HERE. However, with votes still being counted, this race might be headed for a recount.

Meanwhile, Stacey Abrams refuses to concede in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, until all votes are counted. Though her opponent Brian Kemp declared victory Wednesday, it has been marked by valid concerns the he used his current office to suppress votes.  According to CNBC, “The Republican candidate had won roughly 50.3 percent of the votes counted in the race as of Thursday morning, according to NBC News tallies. The figure is important because, if Kemp secures less than a majority of votes, the contest will go to a runoff.”

Despite those painful losses, records were broken and history was made. The 2018 Midterm Elections saw the most women ever elected to the House of Representatives. It might not have been a blue wave but it certainly was a pink wave!  Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 seats in the House. However, 95 have been declared winners, with a projected 100 (or more) women expected to win their seats. Overwhelmingly, they were all Democrats who aided their party to take back control of the chamber.

Florida Restores Voting Rights For Over 1 Million Ex-Felons

By now you would’ve read more about Gillum, Abrams and elections updates on other outlets, however, I’m taking this time to highlight some extraordinary wins from the 2018 Midterm Elections. Thank you to civil rights activist and journalist Shaun King,  who kept abreast (and educated us) on all the wins as they happened.

I’ve compiled a list of some noteworthy winners, especially those reppin’ for the Caribbean. Check them out below!

SOME NOTABLE BIG WINS AND HISTORIC FIRSTS FOR DEMOCRATS:

NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson endorsing Letitia James for New York State Attorney General.

Leticia James (@tishjames2018) has become the FIRST African-American Attorney General and FIRST African-American woman elected to a statewide office.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@ocasio2018) is now the youngest woman EVER elected to Congress.

Ayanna Pressley @ayannapressley became the FIRST African-American woman ever elected to Congress from Massachusetts

Rachael Rollins (@rollins4da) became the FIRST woman and the FIRST African-American to be elected District Attorney of Boston.

Jahana Hayes (@realjahanahayes) became the FIRST African-American woman ever elected to Congress from Connecticut.

Rashida Tlaib (@rashidatlaib) is the FIRST Muslim woman to ever be elected to Congress in Michigan.

Ilhan Omar (@ilhanmn) became the FIRST Somali-American EVER elected to Congress. She will represent Minnesota and joins fellow Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to become the second Muslim elected to Congress.

Antonio Delgado (@delgadoforcongress), a Rhodes Scholar and Harvard Law grad, defeated  Republican incumbent John Fason to turn the NY-19^th Congressional District seat from red to blue.

In Dallas, 35 year old Colin Allred ( @collinallredtx) also beat an 11-term Republican in the House and flipped an essential red seat blue.

Mandela Barnes (@theothermandela) just became Lt. Governor is the State of Wisconsin! He is the first African-American elected as Lieutenant Governor in Wisconsin and only the second to win statewide election.

Juliana Stratton ( @JulianaStratton) was just elected to be the Lt. Governor of Illinois! She is the FIRST African-American woman to be elected to that position in the state.

Lauren Underwood, was elected to represent Illinois’ 14th Congressional District and made history by being the FIRST woman and FIRST African American elected to represent the district.

Garlin Gilchrist II (@garlinii) is an American computer scientist, political advocate and was just elected Lt. Governor in Michigan.

Kwame Raoul ( @kwameraoul), a Haitian-American, defeated Erika Harold to become Illinois’ new Attorney General.

Haitian-born Karl Racine ( @AGKarlRacine) , will retain his position as Attorney General for the District of Columbia. He is the FIRST ever independently elected AG of D..C, a position he has held since January 2015.

IN NEW YORK CARIBBEAN NEWS: 

Zellor Myrie

Zellnor Myrie, a young lawyer of Costa Rican and Jamaican heritage, defeated the incumbent Jesse Hamilton, in Brooklyn’s 20th Senatorial District.

Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, the first Haitian-American to be elected to the State Legislature from New York City, retained her seat in the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn.

In her first bid for elective office, Haitian Dr. Mathylde Frontas, a Columbia University professor, was victorious in the 46th Assembly District in Brooklyn.

Diana Richardson, the daughter of St Martin and Aruban immigrants, was unchallenged in the 43rd Assembly District in Brooklyn.

Trinidadian Jaime Williams was overwhelmingly re-elected in the 59th Assembly District in Brooklyn.

Senator Roxanne Persaud regained her seat in a landslide in the 19th Senatorial District in Brooklyn. Back in November 2014, she became the  FIRST female, FIRST Black and FIRST Guyanese to hold the position of Assembly member for the 59th Assembly District.

The legendary Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, daughter of Jamaican immigrants, won her seat by a landslide, garnering 167 199 votes, or 87.59 per cent, to her Republican Haitian-born challenger, Lutch Gayot, who received 10 336 votes, or 10.13 per cent.

Clarke, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, noted that her victory came on the 50th anniversary of the first Caribbean American woman, Shirley Chisholm, to run for the United States Congress.

The late Chisholm, whose mother was Barbadian and father Guyanese, was also the FIRST Black woman to run for the US Congress. She had represented the then 11th Congressional District in Brooklyn. (CMC)

IN OTHER NEWS….

And much blessings to the 19 African-American female judges of Harris County, Houston, who all won their judgeships!