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Democrats Celebrate One Election Bright Spot: Two Black Women in the Senate

Wins by Democrats Angela Alsobrooks and Lisa Blunt Rochester mean two Black women will serve alongside each other in the Senate for the first time.

Angela Alsobrooks
Jess Rapfogel/AP

Democrats had a tough night after projections showed they lost the Senate. But they also made history.

Democrats Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware are projected to win their Senate races, meaning two Black women will serve in the Senate for the first time in the body’s history.

Blunt Rochester, a current member of Congress, is the first woman and the first Black person to represent the state of Delaware in the Senate. She has served in the U.S. House since 2017. Alsobrooks serves as executive of Prince George’s County; she beat Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, to become the first Black person to represent Maryland in the senate.