While Hillary Clinton failed to make history as the first female president of the United States Tuesday, the election set the stage for several other women to make history in American politics.
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Ilhan Omar became the first Somali-American legislator to win a spot in the House. The 33-year-old community activist came to the U.S. when she was eight years old, after spending years in a Kenyan refugee camp.
Omar will represent a district in Minneapolis that’s home to the largest Somali population outside of the east African country.
Oregon became the first state to elect an openly gay governor. Kate Brown became governor in February 2015, after John Kitzhaber stepped down over an influence-peddling scandal. Brown was then secretary of state and next in line to succeed him. Brown ran for re-election this time around, making her the first openly gay woman to win a gubernatorial election.
READ MORE: Hillary Clinton concedes after losing bid to become first female US president
Attorney General Kamala Harris won the open Senate seat to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in California. Harris was backed by President Barack Obama, Vice-President Joe Biden and other top Democrats.
Harris was born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican-American father, making 51-year-old Harris the first Indian-American senator.
Catherine Cortez Masto became the first Latina U.S. senator. She beat Republican Joe Heck, who struggled with sharing the ticket with Donald Trump, first endorsing and then un-endorsing Trump.
Masto, the former attorney general of Nevada, is the granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant. Her campaign focused on immigration overhaul and rallying against Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S./Mexico border.
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Democrat Stephanie Murphy managed to beat a 12-term Republican to become the first Vietnamese-American woman to win a seat in Congress in Florida’s Seventh Congressional District. Murphy was endorsed by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. She previously served as a national security specialist in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
– With files from Nicole Bogart
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