Sanders made history with his New Hampshire primary win on Tuesday night, also becoming the first non-Christian to win a state in a presidential primary

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Bernie Sanders made history on Tuesday night as he became the first Jewish American to win a presidential primary. The milestone came just eight days after Ted Cruz became the first Hispanic American to win a presidential nominating contest with his win in the Iowa caucuses.

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Sanders, who beat Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire, is not the first Jewish American to run for president. Both former Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman mounted unsuccessful campaigns for the White House in 1996 and 2004 respectively. The Republican nominee for president in 1964, Barry Goldwater, was of Jewish descent but was a practicing Episcopalian.

But Sanders is the first Jewish American candidate, not to mention the first non-Christian candidate of any denomination, to win a state in a presidential primary.

However, if nominated, he will not have been the first Jew to receive votes in the electoral college. Lieberman was Al Gore’s vice presidential nominee in 2000 in his ultimately unsuccessful presidential campaign.