More Diverse Wins Made the 2017 U.S. Election Day Historic

This is only my opinion and not the representation of Saintel Daily, LLC.

Election Day 2017 brought some favorable wins for Democrats.  What’s interesting about these wins, however, is that several black women won these seats – and they won them in major races.  These victories could signal a warning sign for the GOP party who may face a tough election in the upcoming 2018 midterms, and then again for the 2020 presidential election.

I believe that elected officials should be reflective of the people that they represent.  Which means we need more diversity in politics.  I think that there is a cultural shift happening where people are either getting fed up with the lack of diversity, or becoming more accepting of differences.  I don’t really have the answer to that one, but it makes me happy to see this happening.  The reason that this is so important is that so many people have had rights taken away recently.  So why not have a transgendered person in a political position in order to educate people and come up with appropriate policies that affect transgendered people?

This is also an issue for women’s rights.  While I don’t want to go on a feminist diatribe, I think that women know their bodies a little bit better than men.  So why do we allow men to dictate what we can and can’t do with our bodies from a reproductive perspective? All that being said, let’s celebrate the following wins:

Ashley Bennett

Bennett began her foray into politics after a post from her local city councilman about the Women’s March went viral.  It was incredibly sexist and fueled Bennet’s desire to run.  In his post, he posed the question, “will the women’s protest be over in time for them to cook dinner?”  On Tuesday, Bennett unseated John Carman, with the support of dozens of women who came out to vote.

Andrea Jenkins

Jenkins was elected to Minneapolis’ city council as the first openly trans woman of color. Jenkins was also the first trans woman of color elected to a city council seat in a major U.S. city.

Sheila Oliver

Oliver was elected as first Black female lieutenant governor of New Jersey on Tuesday. She previously made history as the state’s first female Black assembly speaker.

Vi Lyles

Vi Lyles won the mayoral race in Charlotte, North Carolina, becoming the first Black woman to hold the position in the city’s history. Lyles defeated her Republican opponent, Kenny Smith.

Yvonne Spicer

Spicer made history on Tuesday as she was elected as the first mayor of Framingham, Massachusetts, a newly formed city.

Melvin Carter

The democratic candidate became the first Black mayor of Minneapolis, winning in a sweeping victory against his opponent, Chris Coleman, Minneapolis’ current mayor. Carter ran on a platform of police reform, affordable schooling and affordable public transportation.

Justin Fairfax

Fairfax was elected on Tuesday as Virginia’s lieutenant governor. He’s the second Black person in Virginia’s history elected public office. The husband and father of two was a former federal prosecutor but has never held public office. His win poises him to run in the next gubernatorial race.