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Now that Donald Trump has won the 2024 U.S. election and the campaign trail is over for another term, the world has awoken to a feeling of uncertainty that can be hard to shake. But as voters took to the polls to determine who would guide America through the next four years, a number of tickets were added onto ballots around the country that offered a glimmer of hope and good news out of what feels like sea of heaviness.
From protections for abortion rights, and US-firsts, these are the US election good news moments you might have missed.
Wins For Abortion Rights In America
While abortion rights and access to reproductive healthcare across America has been in rapid decline since the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in 2022, there were several major wins for abortion rights during this year’s election.
Out of 10 states to place reproductive healthcare on the ballot, seven were successful in expanding existing protections, or reversing bans altogether – which in an election that feels more and more like a war against women, is no small feat.
States like Missouri and Arizona voted not only to reverse their existing abortion policies (which were some of the strictest in the country), but to expand protections and access to reproductive healthcare in a huge win for women.
Elsewhere, Montana, Maryland, Colorado and New York voted to amend existing access and rights, and either codify or enshrine these rights into the state’s constitution, making it even harder for any incoming political decisions to exploit or impact those protections.
Delaware Elects Its First Openly Transgender Congress Member
Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride was elected to the U.S House, becoming the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.
In a post shared to McBride’s Instagram, the senator-elect spoke about the importance of seeking out hope in a time of darkness.
“I know right now it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard to believe that if we work for it, the progress we need will come. But we must never forget that we are the beneficiaries of seemingly impossible change becoming a reality.”
“That’s only true because previous generations persevered despite every reason to give up. But they didn’t: they summoned their hope, they found the light, and they changed the world.
“As I assume the privilege of serving the state I love in Congress, I pledge my unwavering faith in our continued ability to turn our hope into historic progress – because it has always been in our country’s most significant challenges that we take our biggest steps forward.”
U.S. Senate Diversity Wins
It’s hard to believe that in 2024 headlines like ‘Two Black Women Will Serve Simultaneously In The U.S. Senate For The First Time‘ can even be considered revolutionary, but celebrating progress is always important, especially when it comes to US election good news moments.
Such was the case when Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks and Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester were successful in their respective bids for a seat in the senate.
Their successful campaign doubles the number of Black women elected to senate – from two to four – becoming the first time in history that two Black women have served in the senate simultaneously.
Texas Elects First LGBTQIA+ Person To Congress
In more US election good news, Julie Johnson has just made history as the first LGBTQIA+ person to represent Texas in congress.
Johnson defeated Republican Darrell Day to take the her seat in the house of representatives, and has previously been successful in championing LGBTQIA+ rights across the state, as well as campaigning to reinstate women’s reproductive rights.
“Together, we have shattered barriers and proven that representation matters,” Johnson shared in her acceptance speech.
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