We’re still waiting (and waiting… and waiting) to find out who the next President of the United States will be.

But in the meantime, there is actually a lot of good election news to celebrate, mama.

Parents, women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks have some major wins to celebrate from the down ballot races, propositions and measures that passed this week.

If you need some good news, here are some changes worth celebrating this week:

An Oregon county voted for free preschool

This could be a game-changer for the future of childcare. 🙌

As Motherly reported earlier this week, voters in Oregon’s Multnomah County said yes to funding preschool by raising taxes on individuals making more than $125,000 a year (with people making over $250,000 a year paying the most) toward making sure all 3 and 4-year-olds have access to quality day care, and that providers are paid a living wage.

The measure passed by 64%.

Cori Bush makes history as the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress

As Motherly previously reported, mom, nurse and Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush made history this week.

The Congresswoman-elect beat out her Republican opponent and to become the first Black woman elected to represent Missouri in Congress.

Her victory speech will go down in history, and undoubtedly inspire fellow moms and the next generation: “To the Black women, the Black girls, the nurses, the essential workers, the single mothers—this is our moment.”

Voters in Utah + Nebraska removed slavery as a punishment for crime from state constitutions

In Utah and Nebraska, voters struck outdated and horrific references to slavery as punishment for crimes from their state constitutions.

It’s been 150 years since slavery was abolished, but the fact that this language was still on official state documents in 2020 shows how far we still need to go.

Colorado voted for paid leave!

Parents in Colorado got tired of waiting for lawmakers to make paid leave happen through legislation, so they got it on the ballot.

Proposition 118 passed, paving the way for 2.6 million people in Colorado to access 12 weeks of paid family or medical leave.

Marilyn Strickland is the first Korean-American woman ever seated in Congress

As KING5 reports, former Mayor of Tacoma, Marilyn Strickland, “will be the first Black person to represent the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Idaho, and Oregon) in Congress and will be the first Korean-American woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.”

The Congresswoman-elect defeated a fellow Democrat in her quest for Washington’s the 10th Congressional District .

Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones are the first openly-gay Black men in Congress

A lot of people picture Congressmen as straight, white men married to women—because that’s been the majority. But Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres are showing little boys who don’t fit that mold that they, too, belong in the House.

Torres’ win makes him the first openly-gay Afro-Latinx man to be elected to Congress. Jones is the first gay, Black man to do the same.

Their presence gives so many mothers hope for their sons, and so many little boys can now see themselves in Congress.

Mississippi votes out Confederate-themed state flag

Mississippi voters said yes to a new flag and no to racist emblems by voting to get rid of the old, Confederate-themed state flag.

The new flag doesn’t have the blue and white stripes Mississippi has flown since 1894, but instead a magnolia blossom.

NBC News reports the flower is a “symbol long-used to represent our state and the hospitality of our citizens,” according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

A record number of Native American women ran + were elected to Congress

The 2020 election saw more Native American women running for congressional office than ever before…and it paid off.

As The Guardian reports, “the 117th Congress will have a record number of Native American women after voters elected three to the House of Representatives .”

“At least 18 Native American women ran for congressional office in 2020, the highest number in any single election cycle. For comparison, only two Native American women ran for office in 2016, one in 2012 and two in 2008,” reporter Mariel Padilla writes for The 19th. ” Nine were Democrats and nine were Republicans, according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). Some of these women were defeated during the primaries, but three won their House races.”

Those women are Deb Haaland (D) and Yvette Herrell (R) of New Mexico and Sharice Davids (D) of Kansas.

Read the full story on The 19th*.

Colorado elected its first openly bisexual state leglislator

Bisexual people are underrepresented in politics, but Colorado’s David Ortiz is changing that.

A veteran and former helicopter pilot in the United States Army, Ortiz was paralyzed from the waist down in a helicopter crash.

As a Latino, bisexual, Democrat with a visible disability, Ortiz unseated his Republican incumbent with more than 56% of the vote.

His win means that so many kids in Colorado can now see someone like them in politics.

Palm Springs elected their first woman mayor: A bisexual mom with a 2-week-old baby

In Palm Springs, California new mom Christy Holstege (who just gave birth to her first child two weeks ago) is now Mayor.

The civil rights attorney is also an out bisexual. Her victory is one for new parents and the queer community.

Holstege is the first woman to hold the mayor’s seat in Palm Springs.

Republican women set a record in the House

Republican women are setting a new record as 31 GOP women are heading to Congress!

Some races are still being called, but according to Bloomberg , this election is sending more GOP women to congress than any election before it.

This story is developing and will be updated.

[Editor’s note: Motherly is committed to covering all relevant presidential candidate plans as we approach the 2020 election. We are making efforts to get information from all candidates. Motherly does not endorse any political party or candidate. We stand with and for mothers and advocate for solutions that will reduce maternal stress and benefit women, families and the country.]

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