Diversity wins the midterms. The women making history in 2018

Copyright Reuters

By Pascale Davies with Reuters, AP

Published on 07/11/2018 - 10:08•Updated 10:09

A record number of women have made history in being elected to the House of Representatives in the 2018 US midterm election.

A record number of women from diverse backgrounds have made history in the US midterm election by being voted into the House of Representatives.

They include Native Americans, Muslims, Latinos, immigrants, young women, and LGBT candidates.

The vote comes nearly two years after women marched on Washington in defiance of the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

As of early Wednesday morning, voters were on track to send at least 99 women to the House, surpassing the previous record of 84.

Data from The Associated Press showed that 237 women ran for the House as major-party candidates this year.

Also, female voters increased their support for Democratic candidates, according to a Reuters /Ipsos Election Day poll. Fifty-five percent of women said they backed a Democrat for the House this year, compared with 49 percent who said they backed a Democrat in the 2014 congressional midterm elections.

The results could have a dramatic impact on Washington and is seen as a referendum on Trump’s first term in office.

Here are just some of the candidates:

Youngest woman elected to Congress: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York is the youngest women ever elected to Congress at the age of 29. The Democratic candidate ran with a campaign that said: “Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office.”

First Native American congresswomen: Debra Haaland and Sharice Davids

Democrats Debra Haaland and Sharice Davids became the first Native American female candidates to be elected into the House.

Haaland ran on a progressive platform and has campaigned for Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage, and the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Davids is an attorney and former MMA fighter. She has not only become one of the first indigenous women elected into the House, but is also the first lesbian congresswoman from Kansas.

First two Muslim women: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib

Democrat Ilan Omar (above left), a former refugee, is the first Somali-American in Congress and has spent that last four years as a state legislator.

Representing Minnesota, she will be the first Congress member to wear a hijab or head scarf.

Rashida Tlaib was born to a family of Palestinian immigrants in Detroit. The Democrat has backed Medicare for All, immigration reform and a call to overturn Trump’s executive order banning most people from five Muslim-majority nations from entering the United States.

First black House member from Massachusetts: Ayanna Pressley

Ayanna Pressley will become the first black member of the House from Massachusetts.

The Democrat was the first black woman to serve on Boston’s city council and later made history again after defeating the 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano in the primary.