Frederick Schilling, U.S. House · Public domain

Jacky Rosen won a U.S. House seat in Nevada in 2016, her first run for any office, then two years later unseated a sitting Republican senator to become the state's junior senator, a seat she has held since 2019 and was reelected to in 2024. Her rise — from political newcomer to statewide officeholder within two election cycles — skipped the decades-long climb through state legislatures or local office that most senators complete before reaching Washington.