Arizona Democrat Kyrsten Sinema was declared the winner of the state’s hotly-contested 9th congressional district race Monday, in the process becoming the first openly bisexual woman elected to the House.
Sinema beat out Republican candidate Vernon Parker, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to represent the newly-formed district.
An Arizona native, Sinema, who was raised as a Mormon but defines herself as a “secularist”, had the support of Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Human Rights Campaign, among other progressive organizations. The 36-year-old congresswoman previously served in the Arizona State House and Senate.
Elsewhere in Arizona, the race between incumbent Democratic Rep. Ron Barber and the Republican challenger Martha McSally remained undecided with Barber in the lead. Five other LGBT legislators were voted into office last Tuesday and Wisconsin elected the first openly gay woman, Tammy Baldwin, to the Senate.
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