Four New Faces Win Statehouses and a Senate Seat for Democrats

Ballotpedia called wins for four Democrats on Tuesday: Annie Andrews in South Carolina's Senate race, Amy Acton for Ohio governor, Rob Sand for Iowa governor, and Peggy Flanagan for Minnesota's Senate seat. Three were Democratic gains; Flanagan held a Democratic seat. Beyond the headliners, Tuesday minted a new bench, according to Ballotpedia's results tracker. All four calls below are from that same tracker.

Annie Andrews, South Carolina's senator-elect

Andrews defeated appointed Sen. Darline Graham, a Democratic gain, per Ballotpedia. She is the first woman elected to the Senate from South Carolina and the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1998, according to Wikipedia. Before entering politics, she worked as a pediatrician, spending 14 years as a hospitalist at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston. She moved into activism after the 2018 Parkland shooting, joining Moms Demand Action and researching gun violence prevention, per Wikipedia. Her first stop as senator-elect was Shem Creek, where she had first told Washington to "lower the damn diesel," she wrote on X.

Amy Acton, Ohio's governor-elect

Acton's win was also a Democratic gain, per Ballotpedia. The Youngstown native is a physician who holds a public-health master's degree from Ohio State. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine made her the first woman to lead the Ohio Department of Health in 2019, and she led the state's early COVID-19 response, according to Wikipedia. On X, she wrote: "A new sun is rising over the great state of Ohio."

Rob Sand, Iowa's governor-elect

Sand's win was a Democratic gain as well, per Ballotpedia; he beat Republican Zach Lahn 55% to 44%, according to Wikipedia. A former assistant attorney general, he became state auditor in 2019 and was the only Democrat elected statewide in Iowa in 2022. As a Decorah teen, he lobbied local leaders to build a skate park, per Wikipedia. His line on X: "Audited: Governor-Elect."

Peggy Flanagan, Minnesota's senator-elect

Flanagan held the seat for Democrats, per Ballotpedia. A citizen of the White Earth Nation, she began as an organizer for the urban Native community, served on the Minneapolis school board, and became lieutenant governor in 2018 as Tim Walz's running mate, the first woman of color elected statewide in Minnesota, according to Wikipedia. On X, she wrote: "You fought for me. Now, it's my turn to fight for you."