Incoming Senate class includes first Muslim, Native American and Paralympian

Democrats flipped more than 40 House seats and won control of Congress

A series of historic firsts will arrive in Washington when the newest class of U.S. senators is sworn into office in January, according to NPR. The incoming group includes the first Paralympian elected to the Senate, the first Muslim, the first Native American and the first openly gay man — along with South Carolina’s first woman senator and Louisiana’s first Republican woman senator.

The 2026 midterm election produced a significant shift in Congress: Democrats flipped more than 40 House seats and picked up seven Senate seats, giving the party control of both chambers, NPR reported. Not all races have been called.

Josh Turek of Iowa will be the first Paralympian to serve in the Senate. The Democrat is a two-time gold medalist in wheelchair basketball. Turek, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair because of spina bifida, defeated Republican Ashley Hinson in the general election.

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed will become the first Muslim person elected to the upper chamber. El-Sayed, the son of Egyptian immigrants, is an epidemiologist and the former health director for the city of Detroit. He defeated Republican Mike Rogers in a hotly contested race.

Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota’s Democratic lieutenant governor, will be the first Native American elected to the Senate. A member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, Flanagan has made political history more than once: she was also the first woman of color elected to state office in Minnesota. She will replace outgoing Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.

Chris Pappas of New Hampshire is both the first openly gay man elected to the Senate and the first gay man to represent the state. Pappas served four terms in the House and defeated Republican John Sununu.

One of the election night’s biggest upsets came in South Carolina, where Annie Andrews pulled out an underdog win in the deeply Republican state to become its first woman senator. Andrews defeated Darline Graham, who was appointed to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham.

Julia Letlow of Louisiana has made history twice. She was the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House from Louisiana in 2021, running in a special election to replace her late husband, Rep. Luke Letlow, who died of COVID-19 in 2020. Louisiana voters have decided to send her to the Senate, where she will be the first Republican woman from the state to serve. She will succeed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, whom she beat in the primary election.

Texas will send a Democrat to the Senate for the first time since 1988: James Talarico, who defeated Republican nominee Ken Paxton.

Kansas elected a Democratic senator for the first time since 1932, a span of nearly 100 years. Adam Hamilton won a tough race against incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

NPR noted that both Texas and Kansas are reliably Republican states — and both are sending pastors to Washington. Voters in both states broke with the status quo in this midterm election, the outlet reported.

The incoming senators will be sworn into office in January, joining a Congress in which Democrats hold control of both chambers.