OP-ED: Why Diversity Matters

By Fariha Ahmed

The 2018 midterm elections consisted the most diverse set of candidates to ever run for public office in the History of the United States. This includes candidates who come from several marginalized backgrounds, who have risen amidst the current tensions and taken a stance.

According to The New York Times, there were 411 candidates divided between women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates. The Times also stated that the percentage of candidates who were white men was the lowest it’s been in the last four elections.

Tennessee’s first female US senator, Marsha Blackburn was elected. Jahana Hayes, who used to be a high school teacher, is the first black woman representing Connecticut in the House of Representatives after defeating Republican Manny Santos. Hayes was also awarded the 2016 national teacher of the year award, and wants reforms for the public education system. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat, will be Massachusetts’ first black Congresswoman beating 10-term Republican Michael Capuano.

Sylvia Garcia and Veronica Escobar will become Texas’s first Latina women in Congress. Escobar, an El Paso County judge, won Texas’s 16th district with 68% of the votes. Garcia, a Democrat, beat the Republican candidate Phillip Aronoff in the 29th District. In yet another unanticipated result, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar became the first two Muslim women elected to Congress. Tlaib, a daughter of Palestinian immigrants, will be representing Michigan’s 13th District. Omar, who used to be a refugee, is the first Somali-American woman and hijabi to represent Minnesota’s 5th District.

Emerging from America’s too often silent (or repressed) indigenous tribal communities, Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first two Native American`women elected to Congress. Davids comes from the Ho-Chunk Nation, and gained victory in Kansas’s 3rd District beating the incumbent Republican opponent, Kevin Yoder. Davids is also lesbian, and therefore also became the first person from the LGBTQ community to represent Kansas. Deb Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo tribe, won by defeating Republican Janice Arnold-Jones in New Mexico’s 1st District. In yet another win for diversity, Jared Polis of Colorado becomes the first openly gay man to be elected as a governor of US state.

Ilhan Omar

The minorities who won the trust of voters from many different backgrounds to win their individual elections can be proud of being part of democracy in action. Not only can previously marginalized communities now see themselves being represented as a welcome part of the American Dream, but they now also have proof that a majority of American voters can see beyond mindless prejudice and propaganda to successfully support a range of different (and hopefully progressive) voices in government.

Diversity in Congressional representation is especially important as a truer reflection of a powerful nation whose greatness was built upon contributions from many different peoples and cultures. The midterms demonstrated that a woman, a colored person and anyone of any sexual orientation belongs to America, and has a voice that deserves to be heard.