Progressive wave keeps sweeping the country as New Orleans elects first woman mayor

On Saturday, Democrat LaToya Cantrell was elected mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana — the first woman to hold the office, after 50 male predecessors.

And her victory came at a notable moment in the city’s history.

“Almost 300 years, my friends, and New Orleans, we’re still making history,” Cantrell told her supporters, referencing the upcoming anniversary of the city’s founding.

The final tallies are not yet in, but with over one-third of the votes counted by the end of the day, Cantrell already had 60 percent of the vote, giving her a strong mandate.

Cantrell’s opponent, former Judge Desiree Charbonnet, was optimistic about the city’s future under Cantrell.

“If she does well, we all do well,” Charbonnet declared, “and that is what I want for our community at the end of the day, for us all to prosper and thrive.”

Cantrell’s win comes on the heels of other huge and historic Democratic victories.

Democrat Ralph Northam bested the Trump-embracing Republican Ed Gillespie to become the next governor of Virginia, while Danica Roem won her House of Delegates race to become the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker.

Virginia also elected its first Asian American and Latina delegates, while cities in New Jersey elected their first Sikh and Indian American lawmakers.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Andrea Jenkins became the first openly transgender woman of color elected to public office anywhere in the U.S.

And Vi Lyles became the first woman of color elected as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Indeed, there have been numerous crucial wins for Democrats around the nation.

Cantrell’s victory is further proof that Americans are soundly rejecting the agenda pushed by Donald Trump and the Republicans, and are embracing politics of change, progress, and social justice.