Chris Pappas Becomes First Openly Gay Man Elected to Senate
Chris Pappas is set to become the first openly gay male U.S. senator, following his projected defeat of former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu in New Hampshire.
The Democrat is the third openly LGBTQ+ person to be elected to the Senate, following former senators Tammy Baldwin and Kyrsten Sinema.
Pappas’ victory keeps the open Senate seat in Democratic control as Pappas and Sununu were facing off against retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. After his win, Pappas told supporters it was a “victory for Team New Hampshire over the broken status quo,” per the Associated Press, calling it “a wake-up call for corporate special interests and billionaires who have been rigging the econom, for the cowards in Congress who have enabled health care cuts, tariffs and war and for the incompetent president who can’t even be bothered to care how people are being hurt.” But his win also makes a statement that reverberates far beyond one election.
Pappas’ win may also soon have a corollary in Hollywood: Andrew Scott, star of Simon Stone’s Elsinore, could this season become the first openly gay man to win a best actor Oscar. Only two others (Sir Ian McKellen and Colman Domingo) have even been nominated.
Pappas was far from the only candidate making history at the midterms Tuesday night. Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed won his race and became the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Republican Byron Donalds also became Florida’s first Black governor on Tuesday, Democrat David Crowley became Wisconsin’s first-ever Black governor after his win over Tom Tiffany, and Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman ever to be elected governor in any state with her win in Georgia.
And with the Democrats taking control of the House, Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the body’s first-ever Black Speaker.
This is part of The Hollywood Reporter’s ongoing midterm coverage. You can check out all of our pieces here.
