Although many with hopes of seeing the first female president chosen feel disheartened after Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump — and by the possible setbacks his election could have on social progress — there are many uplifting stories of women who made history on Election Day. Meet them below:
became the first African American women elected as a Superior Court Judge in Washington State.
became the first Somali American Muslim woman elected to public office, to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
made history by becoming the first female senator to have seen combat, the first Thai-American woman in Congress and the second Asian-American senator representing Illinois. Duckworth previously held a seat in the U.S. House.
is the first openly gay governor in U.S. history, elected in Oregon.
Lisa Blunt Rochester
became the first woman and first African American to represent Delaware in the House of Representatives.
Catherine Cortez Masto
became the U.S.'s first Latina senator after being elected in Nevada to the Senate.
became the first African-American woman to be elected as sheriff in Texas.
became the first Indian American, and the second African American woman elected to the Senate; she will represent California. There has been speculation that she may run for president in 2020, representing the Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate, Harris also was the first female, African American, Indian American and Asian American to be attorney general in California.
became the first Indian American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Washington state.
became the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, representing Florida in the House.