Salon looks back on new members of Congress and incumbents who shared their visions on SalonTV while on the campaign trail, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep.-elect Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), Rep.-elect Max Rose (D-N.Y.), Rep.-elect Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) and Rep.-elect Katie Porter (D-Calif.).

"It was never about winning," Omar, a Somali refugee who is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, told SalonTV. "It was about changing the narrative on what's possible, changing the narrative about refugees, immigrants, women, all marginalized communities."

Haaland, who is similarly making history by becoming one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress, underscored the importance of bringing different voices to Washington. "It's important that we have diversity at every level, and there just are not enough women of color in any elected office across the country," Haaland said.

Senator Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who won a third term in the Senate, told Salon that when President Trump was elected in 2016 he was somewhat hopeful Trump would be "genuinely disruptive" and a "cleansing force" in Washington. However, that has not been the experience. "The tentacles have just wrapped right around this White House, and he has lined right up with the traditional Republican special interests," Whitehouse said.

Watch highlights from these interviews and more above, and check out SalonTV's full episodes with the following lawmakers:

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse

Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar

Rep.-elect Harley Rouda

Rep.-elect Deb Haaland

Rep.-elect Katie Porter