As early voting has begun, the 2022 midterm elections are underway. With a record number of Black candidates running for political office from the local to the federal level, there is a chance to see many firsts for Black leadership across the country.
Here are 10 Black women who stand to make history if successful in their bids for office.
01
Val Demings
Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief and current U.S. Representative serving Florida’s 10th District, is a U.S. Senate candidate in Florida. If she wins, she would become the state’s first Black senator and the second woman to hold the office.
02
Summer Lee
Summer Lee made history, becoming the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania ever elected to the legislature. Now she is running for Congress and if elected, she would again make history as the first Black woman ever elected to Congress from Pennsylvania.
03
Cheri Beasley
04
Odessa Kelly
Odessa Kelly is a longtime public servant, activist and mother of two running to represent Tennessee’s recently redrawn seventh congressional district. If elected in November, Kelly would make history on multiple fronts. She would be the first Black woman to represent Tennessee in Congress and the first openly gay Black woman to be elected to Congress, ever.
05
Aramis Ayala
Aramis Ayala first gained widespread attention in 2016 when she became Florida’s first Black elected state attorney. Now a candidate for attorney general, Ayala could make history again and become the state’s first Black attorney general if victorious in the upcoming election.
06
Stacey Abrams
Abrams, a longtime Democratic lawmaker, narrowly lost the 2018 Georgia governor’s race to current Gov. Brian Kemp. That loss propelled her to become one of the country’s leading voices on voting rights. Now in her second bid for the governorship, she could make history not only as the first Black woman to hold the office in the state of Georgia but also in the United States, period.
07
Deidre DeJear
Deidre DeJear is a small business owner and community leader in Iowa. Her first major political push for secretary of state in 2018 fell short but helped establish her as a rising star. DeJear won the Democratic primary for governor in June. If she wins, she would become Iowa’s first Black governor. Her potential win could mean that America may see two Black women governors in office.
08
Chelsea Clark
Chelsea Clark is a Cincinnati City Council member, businesswoman, and sixth-generation farmer. She is the only Democrat running for secretary of state in Ohio. If she wins, she would become the first Black woman to hold this office.
09
Karen Bass
California Congresswoman Karen Bass has served the state’s 37th congressional district for over a decade. Now she’s running for mayor of the state’s largest city, Los Angeles. Bass has been endorsed by President Biden and Vice President Harris. If she wins, she would become the first woman to be mayor of Los Angeles and only the second Black person to hold the office. Thomas Bradley was the first Black mayor of L.A., serving the city for 20 years from 1973 to 1993.
10
Andrea Campbell
Campbell was the first Black woman to be elected president of Boston’s City Council in 2015 and served until 2018. In September, she won the Democratic primary for Massachusetts Attorney General. If she wins in November, she would be the first Black woman attorney general in Massachusetts.
