6 Millennial Women And Non-Binary Candidates Who Won on Election Night

There’s no doubt that Millennials and Gen Zers shaped this election. They’ve organized demonstrations on hot-button issues, registered thousands of new voters, and showed up to the polls in record numbers. Supermajority News rounded up just some of the young candidates who won their elections — and, in doing so, offer a peek into what the next generation of lawmakers will value.

Yassamin Ansari

Yassamin Ansari, a 28-year-old climate activist and policy professional, won a competitive five-way race for a seat on the Phoenix, Arizona City Council. While Ansari secured an election-night win, the results of her race were close enough to force a run-off that will take place in March 2021. A staunch advocate of economic, racial, and social justice, Ansari would be a critical voice on the City Council in Phoenix, the fifth-largest and fastest-growing city in the nation.

Taylor Small

Taylor Small told the Burlington Free Press that while a career in politics had long been a goal of hers, she never expected to be elected to public office at the age of 26. But on Tuesday, she received about 30% of the vote in her race for a seat in Vermont’s House of Representatives, coming in second behind incumbent Democrat Harold Colston and securing a seat alongside him. Small’s campaign priorities, which include providing safe and accessible healthcare to Vermont residents and reducing the Vermont State Police budget by 30%, earned her an endorsement from Vermont’s Progressive Party. She will also become the first transgender member of the Vermont Legislature when she is sworn in next year.

Mauree Turner

In June, 27-year-old Mauree Turner shocked many when they beat incumbent Rep. Jason Dunnington in the Democratic primary for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Now, after receiving more than 70% of the vote on election night, Turner has made history as the first publicly non-binary state lawmaker ever elected and the first Muslim elected to Oklahoma’s Legislature. While Trump carried Oklahoma in the presidential race, Turner’s district encompasses Democratic-leaning Oklahoma City, and voters identified with their progressive ideas for criminal justice and public education reform. On the morning after the election, Turner thanked voters for their support on Twitter. “I’m ready to fight hard as hell,” they said.

Sarah McBride

In Delaware, 30-year-old Sarah McBride made history as the first transgender woman elected to the State Senate. As a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, McBride has spent her career fighting for equality. She ran on the platform of expanding access to healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, and reforming the criminal justice system. McBride garnered roughly three-quarters of the votes in her district on election night and took to Twitter to say that she hoped her success “shows an LGBTQ kid that our democracy is big enough for them, too.”

Tiara Mack

Tiara Mack secured an overwhelming victory in her race for Rhode Island State Senate, garnering about 90% of the vote. While election night was a breeze, Mack first had to unseat the previous seatholder in her district, long-time state senator Harold Metts. While campaigning against Metts in the Democratic primary, the 26-year-old activist and non-profit board member cast herself as “the voice of change.” Voters endorsed her visions for affordable housing, stricter gun laws, and removing barriers to voting access. Mack told LGBT Nation last month that she is looking forward to engaging with her constituents. “I want people to challenge me and invite me into those difficult conversations,” she said.

Vanessa Ogier

Vanessa Ogier is a 28-year-old climate activist who ran for and won a seat on the City Council in Grants Pass, Oregon. Grants Pass is the largest city in Josephine County, a conservative area where voters cast almost twice as many ballots for Trump as they did for Biden in the presidential race. Nonetheless, voters identified with Ogier’s campaign priorities, which include fighting for decisive action on climate change and a solution to her city’s affordable housing shortage. Ogier trounced her competition on election night, earning more than 60% of the vote in a three-way race. “People are ready for a change,” Ogier told Supermajority News. “I will take the thousands of votes I received with me to the dais and continue to represent the voices of the people.”