Former national teacher of the year Jahana Hayes has been declared the winner of her congressional race in Connecticut, paving the way for her to become the Constitution State’s first Black woman ever elected to Congress.
“People have said to me: ‘She doesn’t have what it takes,’” Hayes, 45, said in declaring victory. “Not only am I built for this, I’m Brass City built for this.”
She continued: “You … believe that we have to protect the future that we promised for our kids. You also believe that we have an obligation to be of service to someone else, … that true leaders lead from the front and lead by example, and reject all of this hate and intolerance and this indescribable fear that does not define who we are.”
With the election, Hayes added to a number of historic results for a large group of African-American candidates running in the midterm elections across the country.
