There is plenty of history to be made once the US midterm election results come out. A handful of candidates, including those running for the Senate and Governor positions, are hoping to be trailblazers based on their religious, social or even sexual identities.
One of the notable names is Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for the US Senate in Michigan. The Democrat, should he beat Republican Mike Rogers, will become the first Muslim senator in US history.
El-Sayed, born and raised in Michigan, has been the subject of repeated attacks, mostly centred around his Muslim identity.
US President Donald Trump has been leading the hate campaign, calling him a 'jihadist' while Vice President J D Vance said El-Sayed "has a lot of weird friends and he said a lot of crazy stuff". El-Sayed answered the criticisms fairly; he popularly said, 'I will be Senator Muhammad to you, bro", referring to his middle name of Mohamed.
The US has only ever elected three black governors. Wes Moore, who won the Maryland seat in 2022, was the third, after Douglas Wilder in 1990 and Deval Patrick in 2007.
This midterm, eight black candidates are running for governor posts in seven US states. One of them is Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, who could become the first black woman governor.
Four other black Democrats are in gubernatorial races, namely Moore, seeking a second term in Maryland, Jermaine Johnson in South Carolina, Aaron Ford in Nevada and David Crowley in Wisconsin.
The other three are Republicans Byron Donalds, a favourite in Florida, Lisa Demuth in Minnesota and John James in Michigan. Demuth had been elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018.
Democrat Chris Pappas is running for the Senate from New Hampshire. What makes his candidacy special is that if he gets the better of former Republican Senator John E Sununu, Pappas will be the first openly gay male member of the US Senate.
Pappas told USA TODAY that he wasn't running to make history, "but, you know, it's a sign that our nation has come a long distance", acknowledging the acceptance of his candidacy.
Democrats Mary Peltola and Peggy Flanagan are aiming to be the first native American women senators. There have been at least four Native American men in the US Senate, including Republican Markwayne Mullin, who was elected from Oklahoma.
In 2022, Peltola became the first Alaskan native elected to the US House of Representatives. She is up against Republican Senator Dan S Sullivan. In Minnesota, Flanagan is facing GOP nominee Michele Tafoya.
(This story is compiled by Arun George.)