Election Day 2025 will be one to remember.
The news gripping the nation centers on New York City Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s decisive win of the Big Apple’s mayorship. But in other parts of the nation – namely New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan – progressive women candidates made history with their own triumphs.
Here are four notable wins that gave us some much-needed renewed hope.
1. America’s First-Ever State-Level Muslim Woman Official
Last night, State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi became Virginia’s lieutenant governor-elect, which makes her the first Muslim woman in U.S. history to hold a statewide office. It’s not her first time making history, either – when she was elected to the state Senate in 2020, she became the first first Muslim and the first Asian-American person to hold such an office in Virginia. Prior to holding elected office, Hashmi was an educator.
2. Virginia’s First-Ever Woman Governor
There was more good news last night for residents of the Old Dominion, as former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger won the governorship. She will take on the role after three terms served in the U.S. House – experience which makes her intimately familiar with the local implications of the federal government shutdown, as she noted toward the end of her campaign. “We need a governor who will recognize the hardship of this moment [and] advocate for Virginians,” Spanberger said.
3. New Jersey’s First Democratic Woman Governor
Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Navy veteran, was elected as the Garden State’s new governor. Sherrill, also a former federal prosecutor, is only the second woman to ever hold the office in general (the first was Republican Christine Todd Whitman), and the first woman Democrat to win it. Her victory is especially heartening for pro-abortion activists, as she has been a vocal advocate for protecting New Jersey’s Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act.
4. Detroit’s First Woman Mayor
In other significant mayoral news, Mary Sheffield, currently Detroit’s City Council President, will take over leadership of Motor City. It was a decisive victory for the longtime council member with a history of advocating for the city’s lower-income residents, as Sheffield won 77% of the vote. “I am told it was the largest margin [of victory] in the history of the city of Detroit,” Sheffield told reporters at her election party. And with this win, she says she’s committed to making sure that “everyone is going to have a seat at the table with this administration.”
