New Mexico elects all women of color to House delegation for first time

New Mexico elected all women of color to the its House delegation on Tuesday, becoming only the second state in U.S. history to do so.

Rep. Deb Haaland (D), one of the first Native American women elected to Congress, won reelection, while Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez won an open seat for the state’s 3rd Congressional District by defeating Republican challenger Alexis Johnson.

For the third seat in the House delegation, Republican Yvette Herrell ousted Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D) to represent the 2nd Congressional District. Herrell is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

It’s the honor of my life to be elected to serve #NM02. My commitment to each citizen of our district is that I will serve each of them with integrity as we work together to rebuild our economy and protect the values that make America great! #NMPOL pic.twitter.com/8LTYnJvncu

— Yvette Herrell (@Yvette4congress) November 4, 2020

Fernandez will succeed Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D), who was projected to win an open Senate seat.

In 1990, Hawaii became the first state to elect all women of color to a House delegation.

Updated on Oct. 6 at 10:41 a.m.