The First Female Latina Senator Was Elected (Plus a Few More Bright Spots)

While the nation is reeling over the shock of Donald Trump's unprecedented upset in the presidential race, women have still managed to make history in the election tonight—just maybe not in the way everyone expected—the first female Latina senator was elected.

Nevada elected Catherine Cortez Masto to the Senate, making her the first female Latina Senator, beating our her Republican opponent, Rep. Joe Heck, by a margin of 4 percent, according to early returns. She'll fill Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's seat when he leaves office in January. Leading up to the election, Masto garnered endorsements from President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according to The Washington Post. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Masto is Nevada's former state attorney general.

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And another victory for minority women tonight: Three Asian American women will serve in the Senate for the first time ever come January. On Tuesday night, two Asian American candidates—Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and California Attorney General Kamala Harris—prevailed in each of their respective Senate races. They will join Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono, who became the first Asian America woman senator in 2012. Duckworth will be the first Thai American in the Senate, while Harris makes history twice—the attorney general from California, whose mother is from India and father is from Jamaica, is the first Indian American senator and only the second black woman to serve as senator.

And Congress isn't the only place where women are making major moves: Minnesota has elected the nation's first Somali-American Muslim woman to a state legislature. Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia and immigrated to the U.S. after spending four years in a Kenyan refugee camp, defeated a 44-year incumbent to become the Democratic nominee back in August.

So regardless of the outcome of the presidential race, there are still victories for woman and minorities that are definitely worth celebrating this election.

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