The first was Democrat Wes Moore, who beat Republican Dan Cox, becoming Maryland’s first Black governor, and only the third Black governor in the country. Black female candidates hoped to make history across gender and racial lines in several states, from Rep. Val Demings and Aramis Ayala in Florida to Chelsea Clark in Ohio and several women bidding to be the country’s first Black female governor. Although many of these key races ended in upsets for the Black female Democratic candidates, some states have ushered in new progressive representation. And in Massachusetts, Democrat Andrea Campbell beat out Republican Jay McMahon to become the state’s first Black female attorney general. “What we just saw in the midterms is that these Black women were able to inspire multiracial coalitions that enabled their wins.

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