Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday applauded Americans for electing leaders that represent the growing diversity of the country.
Numerous candidates broke barriers in Tuesday’s election. More than 100 women were elected to Congress, including two Muslim women. The nation’s first openly gay governor was elected in Colorado, among many other historic feats.
“Obviously, the Democrats’ success in flipping the House of Representatives, several governorships, and state legislatures will get the most attention. But even more important than what we won is how we won: by competing in places we haven’t been competitive in a long time, and by electing record numbers of women and young veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, a surge of minority candidates, and a host of outstanding young leaders,” Obama said in a statement.
“The more Americans who vote, the more our elected leaders look like America,” he added.
Obama said even the younger candidates who fell short on Election Day “infused new energy and new blood into our democratic process, and America will be better off for it for a long time to come.”
[Related: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez becomes youngest woman elected to Congress]
Two rising black political stars appeared to come up short against their Republican challengers in Florida in Georgia. Obama campaigned for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and former Georgia state legislator Stacey Abrams. Gillum would have been Florida’s first African-American governor and Abrams would have been that nation’s first black female governor, but she trailed against Brian Kemp in a race that has yet to be called.
“Our work goes on. The change we need won’t come from one election alone — but it is a start. Last night, voters across the country started it,” Obama said.
