What historic firsts did Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell list from the 2026 US midterms?

Alastair Campbell listed Abdul El-Sayed as the first Muslim US senator, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire as the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, and James Tallarico as the first Texas Democrat to win since 1994. Adam Hamilton became the first Democratic senator elected in Kansas since 1932, Annie Andrews the first woman elected to the Senate from South Carolina, and Amy Acton the first woman elected governor of Ohio. Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor of any state, one of four Black governors elected.

• Rory Stewart said Susan Collins lost Maine to Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger, and Alastair Campbell put the margin at 53 to 47.
• The Alaska Senate race was still undeclared, complicated by a second candidate named Dan Sullivan splitting the Republican vote.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-11-04). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode