Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has been declared the winner today of the newly formed Arizona congressional district, becoming the first openly bisexual member of Congress.
Sinema will join the largest-ever class of openly lesbian, gay and bisexual lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including the first openly-gay senator, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
The Associated Press reported Sinema, 36, had a razor-thin lead on Election Night against her opponent, Tea Party candidate Vernon Parker, but she ultimately pulled ahead, finishing with a 6,000-vote edge over the Republican.
Following the calling of the race in her favor Sinema released the following statement, “I am grateful for the honor and the opportunity to serve the people of Arizona again. My job is to represent all of the people in CD9 whether they voted for me or not. The voters have given us a clear ‘to do’ list – work to fix our economy, reduce our ballooning debt and better protect the middle class. I am eager to get to work and I intend to team up with anyone of any party who is willing to help change Congress and move our country forward.”
