tovfla/iStockBy EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — From Miami helping President Donald Trump in Florida to a swift reelection for the Senate majority leader, here are some of the races to remember from the 2020 election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell easily won reelection in Kentucky, despite Democrat Amy McGrath putting up a competitive challenge.
McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, raised an astonishing $88 million in the race, and spent $73 million in her unsuccessful effort to oust McConnell.
McConnell, a 36-year veteran of the Senate, wields significant power over Congress and frequently touts that he is the only senior congressional leader not from New York or California.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of President Trump, won an unexpectedly competitive contest against Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison.
Harrison, the first Black chair of South Carolina’s Democratic Party, was relying on Black turnout in the Palmetto state to pull him over the finish line, but Graham has now secured a fourth term.
In the key battleground state of Florida, where Trump is projected to win, the president received unexpected support from Latinos in Miami-Dade County.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is winning Miami-Dade County, a Democratic stronghold, by only about 84,800 votes as of Wednesday morning.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton carried Miami-Dade County by about 300,000 votes.
In Colorado, Democrat John Hickenlooper defeated incumbent Sen. Cory Gardner after a competitive general election.
Hickenlooper had to battle against some ethics violations brought down during his time as governor, but his general popularity and assistance from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee helped him through the final months of the election. The race shaped up to be the 10th most expensive at $95,670,908, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
In the U.S. House races, Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres both won their districts in New York, making history by becoming the first two openly LGBTQ Black members of Congress.
There are currently seven openly LGBTQ members in the U.S. House and two openly LGBTQ U.S. Senators.
“Mondaire and Ritchie have shattered a rainbow ceiling,” Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, said in a statement. “Their elections will end any doubts about the electability of Black LGBTQ men to our nation’s highest legislative body. It will also inspire more young LGBTQ leaders and leaders of color to run and serve.”
In Tennessee, Democrat Torrey Harris and Republican Eddie Mannis won seats to the state House, becoming the first two openly LGBTQ people ever elected to Tennessee’s state legislature.
Tennessee had been one of five states to have never elected an openly LGBTQ person to the state legislature.
A race with a third openly LGBTQ Tennessee state House candidate remained undecided late Tuesday night.
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