Native American Women Win Historic Races for Governor and Senate

Native American women reached two milestones in Tuesday’s midterm elections, winning a governorship and a U.S. Senate seat for the first time. New Mexico elected Deb Haaland as governor, while Minnesota’s lieutenant governor, Flanagan, won election to the Senate. Their victories expanded Native women’s representation in offices where they have long been underrepresented.

Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, defeated Republican Gregg Hull, the former mayor of Rio Rancho. Flanagan, an enrolled member of White Earth Nation, beat Republican Michele Tafoya, whose career has included work as a sports broadcaster and conservative commentator.

The New Mexico result adds to a series of firsts for Haaland. In 2015, she became the first Native American woman to lead a state political party when she was elected chair of the Democratic Party of New Mexico. She and Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids became the first two Native American women elected to Congress in 2018. Davids also won reelection Tuesday. Haaland subsequently became the first Native American Cabinet secretary, leading the Interior Department under former President Joe Biden from 2021 until January 2025.

During her campaign, Haaland described raising her daughter as a single parent, selling homemade salsa and sometimes depending on food stamps. Her platform focused on living costs, preserving New Mexico’s Universal Child Care program and restructuring its child welfare system. She also pledged an executive order on her first day to halt construction of new large-scale data centers until state lawmakers establish guardrails.

Flanagan began her career as an organizer before serving on the Minneapolis School Board and heading the Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota. Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2015, she has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, helping change the state’s relationship with its 11 tribal nations.

Flanagan connected her upbringing with the financial pressures facing voters. Raised by a single mother in Section 8 housing, she experienced repeated hospital visits because of childhood asthma and has credited Medicaid with saving her life. Her progressive campaign supported Medicare for All and national paid family and medical leave. White Earth leaders performed a victory song on a drum at her election gathering in St. Paul.

The National Congress of American Indians described the results as historic for Indian Country. Native American women account for about 1% of the U.S. population, according to Census Bureau data. The organization is the nation’s oldest and largest association of tribal governments.

Its executive director, Larry Wright Jr., said Native women had led their nations and protected families long before gaining access to government office. He said the victories showed young Native girls that their leadership belongs in those spaces, and expressed hope that greater representation would bring progress on protecting tribal lands and honoring treaty obligations.

Another potential milestone remained unresolved in Alaska, where a Yup’ik Democrat was challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan. CBS News estimates classified the contest as a toss-up, with an outcome potentially pending ranked-choice tabulation later in November.