A historic blue wave swept the US House and Senate overnight, putting new Democratic rising stars in the spotlight.
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wave → sweep → spotlight
For months, Abdul El-Sayed, Chris Pappas, James Talarico, and more have taken on the campaign trail with full force, and on Tuesday, a majority of their dreams came true.
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majority → take → dreams
El-Sayed, 42, became the first-ever Muslim to win a Senate seat in America after defeating Republican and Trump-backed Mike Rogers.
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Sayed → become → Rogers
Pappas, 46, won the US Senate election in his home state of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay man ever elected to the Senate.
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him → win → Senate
Talarico, 37, flipped the state of Texas after becoming the first Democrat to win the state's Senate seat since 1988.
But all of the winners couldn't have gotten there without their partners - the people who stood by their sides through it all and who are now in the limelight now too.
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who → flip → limelight
Abdul El-Sayed & Dr Sarah Jukaku
Abdul El-Sayed, 42, became the first-ever Muslim to win a Senate seat in America after defeating Republican and Trump-backed Mike Rogers
His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, was by his side throughout his campaign and when he won.
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he → become → campaign
The two of them met while attending the University of Michigan, and they share two daughters
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they → meet → daughters
Throughout his Senate campaign, El-Sayed had his psychiatrist wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, by his side.
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Sayed → have → side
She was also next to him on stage when he won.
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he → win → stage
The pair met at the University of Michigan and were featured in The Michigan Daily article in 2006.
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pair → meet → 2006
In the piece, Dr Jukaku said that El-Sayed proposed to her when she was a freshman.
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she → say → her
'I was young, and one of the things he said was, "We’re still growing, now we can grow together",' she recalled at the time.
El-Sayed told the outlet that he always knew he would marry young because of his Islamic faith.
'Islamically, there are no premarital relations of any sort.
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he → say → sort
Given that, the logical solution is to get married,' he said.
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he → give → that
The Senate-elect added at the time: 'I was going to meet one girl and I was going to marry her.
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I → add → her
In some senses, I feel like that’s the purest form of a relationship with someone.
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that → feel → someone
It cuts out all the B.S.
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It → cut → B.S.
El-Sayed and Dr Jukaku live together in Ann Arbor with their two daughters, Emmalee and Serene, according to his campaign website.
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Sayed → live → website
Chris Pappas, 46, won the US Senate election in his home state of New Hampshire, making him the first openly gay man ever elected to the Senate.
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him → win → Senate
He was joined on stage by his husband, Vann Bentley, on Tuesday evening
Pappas and Bentley got engaged in December 2021 and married each other on February 4, 2023, at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
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Pappas → join → Woods
His wife was born to an Indian immigrant couple in Michigan, where she grew up.
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she → bear → Michigan
El-Sayed was raised in Southeast Michigan by his Egyptian immigrant dad and stepmother named Jackie.
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Sayed → raise → dad
Dr Jukaku obtained degrees in sociology and Near East studies before earning a master's degree from the University of Oxford.
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Jukaku → obtain → Oxford
She went on to complete her medical studies at Columbia University.
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She → go → University
El-Sayed also earned a medical degree from Columbia and Oxford, but he did not complete a medical residency and is not a licensed practicing physician.
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he → earn → residency
After thanking his supporters on Tuesday night, El-Sayed brought his wife on stage as the crowd cheered her name.
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crowd → thank → name
'Sarah, thank you, thank you for everything, there is no doing this without you, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.
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I → thank → anyone
I love you, and I am so grateful,' he said.
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he → love → you
Chris Pappas & Vann Bentley
Pappas is married to Vann Bentley, an attorney who specializes in technology policy, cybersecurity and privacy, Lighthouse Recruitment reported.
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Recruitment → marry → policy
They got engaged in December 2021 and married each other on February 4, 2023, at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, according to the outlet.
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They → engage → outlet
At the time, Pappas was serving in the US House of Representatives for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District.
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Pappas → serve → District
Although Bentley and Pappas appear to keep their professional lives separate, the new Senate-elect recognized his husband during his victory speech.
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elect → appear → speech
His husband stood proudly by his side as Pappas thanked his supporters.
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Pappas → stand → supporters
Bentley is an attorney who specializes in technology policy, cybersecurity and privacy.
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who → specialize → policy
Although they appear to keep their professional lives separate, they publicly support each other
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they → appear → other
'I want to thank the guy next to me, my amazing husband, Van,' Pappas said as the two of them embraced each other.
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two → want → other
The crowd continued to cheer for Bentley as Pappas joked: 'Alright, the wrong person was on the ballot, apparently.
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person → continue → ballot
But he's always been by my side, and look, tonight, win, lose or draw, I'm the luckiest guy because I'm married to a man that I love.
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I → look → that
And despite all the negative attacks and the lies, it's nice to know that love and truth prevailed tonight.'
James Talarico
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Talarico → know → attacks
Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas' Senate race and now he will head to Washington DC with his longtime girlfriend, Brianna Menard.
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he → defeat → girlfriend
The two of them met while Menard served as his chief of staff, Talarico said on the Jamie Kern Lima Show, and his campaign later confirmed to The New York Times.
'
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campaign → meet → Times
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
