The incoming class of U.S. senators is full of historic firsts

From the first Native American elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Muslim who will join the upper chamber to the Senate's first Paralympian, voters elected historic candidates in the midterms.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3000x2000+0+0/resize/3000x2000!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F89%2F45%2Fec329b15426b8f905036518cfcae%2Fdems-senate-history.jpg' alt='Josh Turek, Peggy Flanagan, and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed are among several Democratic Senators-elect who made history on Election Day 2026.'/><p>From the first Native American elected to the U.S. Senate and the first Muslim who will join the upper chamber to the Senate's first Paralympian, voters elected historic candidates in the midterms.</p><p>(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images; Dymanh Chhoun/Sahan Journal/CatchLight via Getty Images; Sylvia Jarrus for NPR)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6032814' />