Joe Neguse Is the First Eritrean-American To Be Elected to Congress
Neguse's win also makes him Colorado's first black congressman.
History continues to be made as the U.S. midterm election results continue to roll in.
Joe Neguse, a Democrat from Lafayette, Colorado, won the race to represent the state's 2nd Congressional District, Coloradoanreports.
This makes Neguse Colorado's first black congressman, as well as the first Eritrean-American to have a seat in Congress. He will replace U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, beating Republican Peter Yu 64 percent to 31 percent.
The 34-year-old congressman is joining the small group of first-generation Americans to serve in Congress. He's set to be the youngest of Colorado's nine Congressional representatives and one of the youngest members of Congress as a whole.
His parents are Eritrean immigrants who were naturalized as citizens after being granted asylum.
"With so much vitriol right now in Washington and our political system, we must remember that, while fear is contagious, so is hope," he says in a statement.
Neguse ran a platform that supported a single-payer, Medicare-for-all plan, protecting undocumented immigrants who arrived to the U.S. as children, as well at starting the impeachment process against President Donald Trump.