Democrat Jennifer McClellan has made history as the first Black woman elected to represent Virginia in Congress, NBC News projected Tuesday.

Democrat Jennifer McClellan has defeated her Republican opponent to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she will be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan has overwhelmingly won the Democratic nomination to succeed the late A.

A statue of Gen. Robert E.

Black women are stepping up as Democratic candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate as the party looks to expand its footprint in Sun Belt battlegrounds.

Justin Fairfax directs the Senate at the Capitol, in Richmond, Va. An unusually broad field is vying to be the next governor of Virginia as the marquee political contest of 2021 gets into full swing. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)RICHMOND, Va. – An unusually broad field of candidates are vying for the governor's seat in Virginia as the marquee political contest of 2021 gets into full swing. The field of announced and likely candidates in the closely watched race is more diverse than anytime in modern history. “Folks, it is time for a new Virginia way,” he said at his campaign kick off in early December. The nomination fight, Kidd said, will be a key indicator of “whether or not the Trump fever has broken” among Virginia Republicans.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)RICHMOND, Va. A Virginia state senator is launching a bid to be the state's next governor, which if successful would make her the nation's first African-American woman to ever lead a state. I have the understanding of where we are in this moment in time, how we got here ... and the vision to take Virginia forward, McClellan said. McClellan is one of several Democrats either officially running or eyeing a possible campaign for their party's nomination to succeed Gov. If she were to win the 2021 contest, McClellan would be Virginias first woman governor, the first African American female governor in the United States and only the second woman ever elected to statewide office in Virginia. I'm not running to make history, I am running to set Virginia on the course I think we need to go," she said.