Elections Put First Women of Color in Governor Posts

By Women's eNews staff

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

South Carolina's Nikki Haley and New Mexico's Susana Martinez won a paired precedent on election night as the first two women of color elected governor. The two Republicans were part of a strong night, overall, for GOP women.

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Senate Race Results

In Senate races, Tea Party candidate New Hampshire's Kelly Ayotte was declared the winner. In Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln lost a long-held Democratic seat.

Maryland's Democratic incumbent Barbara Mikulski kept her seat, as did California's Barbara Boxer, who was in a tough race with former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Washington Democrat Patty Murray was also expected to be re-elected.

Mikulski and Boxer were were elected in the so-called Year of the Woman in 1992. Both progressives and pro-choice, they appeared on election night to have withstood strong and well-financed opposition.

In 1986, Mikulski became the first Democratic woman elected in her own right to the U.S. Senate. She was re-elected with large majorities in 1992, 1998 and 2004. Mikulski first served in the House for 10 years.

Tea party candidates Christine O'Donnell, Delaware, and Sharron Angle, Nevada, were both defeated in their highly publicized races.

Wrestling tycoon Linda McMahon, a Republican, and Democrat Roxanne Conlin of Iowa both lost their bids to become senators. Conlin, an assistant attorney general, fought for laws to protect rape victims and pregnant employees.