Editor's note: A previous version of this story mischaracterized Michelle Lujan Grisham's win as governor of New Mexico. She will be the state's first Democratic Latina governor.

Native American and Muslim women are headed to Congress for the first time, as candidates of color notched a series of historic wins in Tuesday's midterm elections.

Democrat Sharice Davids of Kansas became the first Native American woman elected to the House, beating incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder in the district that includes part of Kansas City, Kan. Debra Haaland, another Native American, also won her seat in New Mexico’s solidly Democratic 1st District. Haaland will replace Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who was elected New Mexico's first Democratic Latina governor.

Rashid Tlaib, a former Michigan state representative and a Muslim, cruised to victory in her race to represent parts of Detroit and its suburbs. Fellow Muslim Ilhan Omar, Minnesota's first Somali-American legislator, became the first woman of color from the state elected to Congress.

"Rashida Tlaib is breaking an important glass ceiling tonight," said Jim Dean, chairman of the progressive group Democracy for America. "We know the kind of unrelenting champion for bold, inclusive populist ideas she's going to be in the U.S. House."

The congresswoman-elect led a surge of minorities running for office. The candidates of color reflected a growing sentiment among voters that it’s time for racial minorities and women to play a larger role in American politics.

Almost 80% of voters said it's very or somewhat important that more women and racial minorities be elected to public office and almost half said it's very important, CNN exit polls showed. Around two-thirds of white voters said it's important to elect more minorities, while around 80% of African Americans agreed.

The diverse field of minority candidates that ran in this election cycle, mostly Democrats and many women, included Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Florida governor's candidate Andrew Gillum.

Abrams is trying to become the first black woman elected governor in America – a race has come down to absentee and provisional ballots outstanding early Wednesday. Gillum fell short in his bid to become the Sunshine State's first African-American governor.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts' Ayanna Pressley became the commonwealth's first black woman in Congress, and Connecticut's Jahana Hayes earned the same distinction from her state.

Pressley, who in 2009 became the first black woman elected to the Boston City Council, notched the first major victory of this election cycle among minority candidates. She shook up Massachusetts politics in September when she defeated 10-term U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in the Democratic primary. She was running unopposed in Tuesday's election.

Hayes, a Waterbury schoolteacher, was the 2016 national teacher of the year. She was part of the record number of teachers who ran for office this fall, after this year's demonstrations for higher pay and more respect.

More:Elections 2018 US Senate, House and Governor race results

Wins by more diverse candidates offer "a world of possibilities to women and people of color who will follow in their footsteps," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Women and minorities, she said, "bring different voices, different perspectives, different life experiences ... to the making of public policy.”

Governor races

Besides Gillum, who lost the Florida gubernatorial race, several other minority candidates who sought the governorship in their states were defeated at the polls.

Lupe Valdez, also a Democrat, made history as the first Latina woman in Texas to win a major party's gubernatorial nomination, but fell short in her bid to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott.

Maryland Democrat Ben Jealous, who was seeking to become the state's first African-American elected governor, was defeated by incumbent Gov. Larry Hogan.

Democrat David Garcia lost his bid to be the first Latino governor in Arizona in more than 40 years.

Andria Tupola, a Republican, was unsuccessful in her bid to become the first Native Hawaiian woman governor.

Paulette Jordan, the first woman to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor in Idaho, was defeated in her effort to become the nation’s first Native American governor.

In the Senate, Democrat Mike Espy and Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi will face a Nov. 27 runoff. Neither was able to win a majority of Tuesday's vote in a four-candidate race.

No matter who wins the runoff, it will mark a first for Mississippi. Hyde-Smith would be the first woman in state history to serve in the Senate, while Espy would be the first African-American since Reconstruction to represent the state.

House races

Republican Eddie Edwards, of New Hampshire, failed in his bid to become the Granite State's first African-American congressman.

But other candidates of color around the country had better luck at the polls.

In Illinois’ 14th District, Democrat Lauren Underwood, 32, a registered nurse and former Health and Human Services Administration official in the Obama administration, unseated incumbent Rep. Randy Hultgren.

Underwood became the first African-American elected to a district that is about 80 percent white. Republicans have held the seat for all but two of the last 69 years.

In her victory speech, Underwood paid homage to former Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who was the first black woman elected to Congress – 50 years and one day ago, Underwood said.

"When Congresswoman Chisholm ran for president in 1970s, she proclaimed that she was unbought and unbossed. I've adopted that declaration as my own unofficial motto," Underwood said. "I aspire to be a bold representative for this community."

In Texas, Democrats Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia became the first Latinas to represent the state in the House.

Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, was less successful in her bid to become the first Filipina-American in Congress. She lost a close race to incumbent Rep. Will Hurd, a former CIA officer, in the race to represent a district that stretches from San Antonio to the edge of El Paso.

The trend of more women of color running for office came against the backdrop of the #MeToo Movement focusing on sexual harassment, the historic Women's March in January 2017, and the crucial role black women have played in recent elections. For instance, women of color helped Democrat Doug Jones pull off an upset last year in the Alabama Senate race.

Organizations ramped up spending to help more candidates of color.

MoveOn, a progressive group, set aside $1.3 million to help black women candidates. Of that, more than $1 million went to Abrams’ campaign, said spokesman Nick Berning.

The group endorsed Abrams early because of her positions and the historic nature of her race. “It would be really important symbolically for her to win,’’ Berning said.

More:Women poised to make political history, and other takeaways from Tuesday primaries

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More:Ayanna Pressley is just one of the female candidates making history in 2018. Here's a rundown.

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano, Chrissie Thompson