Women now hold 96 out of the 435 House of Representative seats, a record number set on Tuesday night. And the vast majority of them ran as Democrats helping to give the Democratic Party control of the House.
According to The Hill, “more than twice as many women ran for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections than in 2016.” Progressive female candidates said they were motivated to run for office considering the current state of America and the resurgence of women’s rights activism throughout the United States.
Tuesday’s outcome not only made U.S. history, it also included many “firsts.” Ilhan Omar, a democrat, won Minnesota’s 5th Congressional district and Michigan House candidate Rashida Tlaib, also a democrat, became the first two Muslim-American women to be elected to Congress. Democrat Ayanna Pressley victory in Massachusetts’s 7th District makes her the first black woman ever elected to Congress from Massachusetts, The Hill reported. Debra Haaland from New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District joins Sharice Davids from Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District in becoming the first Native American woman to serve in Congress. Davids is also the first LGBT person to represent Kansas. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest person election to Congress at 29 years old.
“This is what is possible when everyday people come together in the collective realization that all our actions, no matter how small or how large, are powerful, worthwhile and capable of lasting change,” Ocasio-Cortez said at her victory speech on Tuesday.
Lou Leon Guerrero from the U.S. territory of Guam the first female governor elected on Tuesday keeping the female wave going in the midterm elections. Eight additional women will serve as governor in the U.S.
In total, 117 women were elected during the 2018 midterm elections – 96 elected to the House, 12 to the Senate and 9 as governor – shattering records and increasing the number of women in power.
“Thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in America,” Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader, said.
