Two Native American women made history Tuesday night in the 2026 midterm elections, winning a Senate seat and a governorship — both firsts for Native women — as Democrats swept races across the country.
In New Mexico, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was elected governor, making her the first Native American woman elected to lead a U.S. state. In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American woman senator.
Haaland, a citizen of Laguna Pueblo, was already the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary. She defeated Republican Gregg Hull, former mayor of Rio Rancho, in the race for governor.
Flanagan, an enrolled member of White Earth Nation, defeated Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster and conservative commentator.
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Who are they?
Haaland has notched many firsts. She became the first Native American woman to chair a state political party in 2015 when she was elected to lead the Democratic Party of New Mexico. In 2018, she became one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress, alongside Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas, who was reelected Tuesday. Haaland later served as former President Joe Biden’s Interior secretary from 2021 until January 2025.
On the trail, she spoke about raising her daughter alone, selling homemade salsa and relying at times on food stamps.
“My story is a lot like many New Mexicans — humble beginnings,” she told a Rio Rancho congregation in October.
Flanagan got her start as an organizer, then served on the Minneapolis School Board and led the Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota. She was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2015 and has been lieutenant governor since 2019, where she has helped reshape Minnesota’s relationship with the state’s 11 tribal nations.
Raised by a single mother in Section 8 housing, Flanagan had childhood asthma that kept her in and out of hospitals. She’s been an outspoken supporter of Medicaid, saying that it “saved [her] life.”
What do they stand for?
Haaland ran on the cost of living, protecting New Mexico’s Universal Child Care program and overhauling its child welfare system. She also blamed President Trump for cuts to federal safety net programs. She has promised to issue an executive order on day one to pause the construction of new large-scale data centers until the state Legislature passes guardrails.
Flanagan drew on her own upbringing to connect with voters who are feeling financially squeezed. She ran as a progressive, backing “Medicare for All” and national paid family and medical leave.
“Minnesota, you just beat Donald Trump again,” Flanagan told supporters on Tuesday night at her election watch party in St. Paul, where White Earth leaders played a victory song on a drum.
Why does it matter?
The National Congress of American Indians, the country’s oldest and largest association of tribal governments, called the wins historic milestones for Indian Country. Native American women make up approximately 1% of the U.S. population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, but have long been underrepresented in elected office.
“Long before Native women were welcomed into the halls of government, they were leading our Nations, protecting our families, and shaping the future of Indian Country,” NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright Jr. said in a statement to CBS News.
“For young Native girls across Indian Country, these victories send an important message: their voices matter, their leadership is essential, and they belong wherever possibilities are reimagined,” said Wright.
He added that he hopes that representation translates into “meaningful progress,” in particular, protecting tribal lands and honoring treaty obligations between the U.S. government and tribal nations.
A third Native American woman could soon join Haaland and Flanagan in making history this midterm election. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik, is in a Senate race with incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan that remains a toss-up, according to CBS News estimates. The outcome may not be decided until ranked-choice tabulation later this month.
