Haaland and Flanagan become first Native American women elected governor and senator

Voters in New Mexico and Minnesota elected two Native American women to statewide office this week, marking the first time either a U.S. governorship or a U.S. Senate seat has gone to a Native American woman. Deb Haaland won New Mexico's governorship and Peggy Flanagan won an open Minnesota Senate seat, according to state election results and projections reported by CBS News and KOB-TV in Albuquerque.

New Mexico: Haaland succeeds Lujan Grisham

Haaland, a Democrat and citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, defeated Republican Gregg Hull, the former mayor of Rio Rancho, 57% to 43%, according to results posted through New Mexico's Secretary of State election-results portal and a KOB-TV tally that had her ahead 412,834 votes to 308,315 with 98% of precincts counted. Hull conceded Tuesday night. Haaland served as U.S. interior secretary under President Joe Biden from 2021 to January 2025, becoming the first Native American to hold a Cabinet secretary post, and she now succeeds term-limited Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham as New Mexico's third consecutive female governor. She campaigned on the cost of living, New Mexico's child-care subsidy program and a promised day-one order pausing new large-scale data-center construction.

Minnesota: Flanagan flips an open Senate seat

In Minnesota, Flanagan, the state's lieutenant governor since 2019 and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, defeated Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith. The Associated Press projected Flanagan the winner, according to CBS News, while Minnesota's Secretary of State continued posting results through its own election-results site as the count finished. Minnesota's government describes Flanagan, in her official lieutenant governor biography, as "the country's highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office" before Tuesday's win. She campaigned on expanding Medicaid-style coverage and paid family leave, telling supporters in St. Paul on election night, "Minnesota, you just beat Donald Trump again."

The National Congress of American Indians called both wins historic milestones for Indian Country. "Native women were leading our nations, protecting our families, and shaping the future of Indian Country" long before entering elected government, NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright Jr. said, adding that he hopes the added representation brings progress on tribal land and treaty issues. A third Native American woman, Mary Peltola, a Yup'ik Democrat and former Alaska congresswoman, was still locked in an uncalled Senate race against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan that may not be resolved until ranked-choice tabulation later this month. Haaland was already a trailblazer before Tuesday: in 2018 she and Kansas Democrat Sharice Davids became the first two Native American women elected to Congress. (Charles Curtis, a Kaw Nation citizen, served as vice president from 1929 to 1933, but historians generally credit Haaland as the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department rather than the first Native American in a Cabinet-level post.)

Both winners are due to be sworn in in January. Haaland will take over New Mexico's governorship from Lujan Grisham, who was barred from seeking a third consecutive term, while Flanagan will succeed Smith in the Senate after Smith chose not to seek re-election. Minnesota's other Senate seat is also in flux: Sen. Amy Klobuchar left it to run for governor this year, and if her own projected win holds, Gov. Tim Walz would appoint a replacement to serve until a special election. Final, certified vote counts in both New Mexico and Minnesota were still being processed by county canvassing boards in the days after Tuesday's election.