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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York, welcomes a passerby in New York on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, the day after her vexation against US representative Joe Crowley at the election. Tuesday's primary. (Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)
WASHINGTON – Women candidates broke the record for the first time on Tuesday, with 26 victories in the election as Democrats took control of the chamber.
The previous record of 24 years was established in 1992, the last "Year of the Woman".
The first year class next year will include women of color who broke the barriers in their states, as well as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress – Democratic activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who turned 29 in October.
Up to now, 75 women have been elected to the House at 12:10 pm Eastern Time. According to an analysis by USA TODAY, 64 women in the House are Democrats, including 25 out of 26 newcomers.
Nine women senators were elected, including a recruit – Marsha Blackburn, US GOP representative, who beat former Tennessee Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen to become the first female state senator. Seven of the women senators are Democrats.
Five women, meanwhile, won the governors' races.
Women were about to make significant electoral gains in this "Women's Year" election, largely because of the massive "resistance" movement to President Donald Trump, which began after the 2016 election. At the exit of the CNN polls, nearly 80% of voters said it was very or somewhat important to see more women elected. It was a higher priority for women than for men, but not much, said CNN.
Women have broken records in this election cycle regarding the number of women candidates who have run for office, who have become their party's candidates for the House, Senate and Governor elections, and even the number of women running in the general election.
It is possible that women lose seats in the Senate and not break the record for the number of female governors. But for the first time in history, Americans could elect more than 100 women in the House., said David Wasserman, the American editor of the nonpartisan political report Cook.
"It would not happen without Donald Trump at the White House," said Wasserman. "It's a direct reaction to his election."
Senate Republican candidate Martha McSally, left, and Democratic Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema, right, prepare to debate in the studios of the public television station KAET in Phoenix on October 15, 2018. (Photo: RICK D & ELIA, EPA-EFE)
The majority of women who ran for seats in the House – 185 were Democrats, while 52 were Republicans. About a third were women of color.
Among the races that break the barriers:
- Michelle Lujan Grisham, an American representative from New Mexico, became the first democratic governor of Latina.
- Sharice Davids, Democratic of Kansas and a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, and Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico and a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, were elected as the first women members of the Amerindian Congress. The results are not yet known for Yvette Herrell, representative of the GOP in New Mexico and member of the Cherokee Nation, Congress candidate. Davids is also the first member of the LGBTQ Congress in Kansas.
- Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women of Congress. Omar, a representative of the Democratic State of Minnesota, already the first US-Somali legislator, is now the first woman of color in the state to be elected to Congress. Tlaib, a former legislator from the state of Michigan and also a Democrat, had no Republican opponents in the 13th congressional district, which included parts of Detroit.
- Guam elected his first female governor. As former MP Lou Leon Guerrero, Democrat, he claimed the post of his party for the first time since 2003.
- Boston city councilor Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat who ran unopposed, became the first black woman to be elected to the Massachusetts Congress.
"When you think about what is a representative democracy, it is important to ensure that the perspectives and experiences of the entire population are reflected in these legislative institutions, whether at the state level or at the federal level. Said Debbie Walsh, director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). "These experiences determine the political priorities of these elected officials."
Twenty-three women sit in the Senate, including six Republicans and 17 Democrats. Six women – two Democrats and four Republicans – are governors.
During the "Year of the Woman" in 1992, voters elected more than 24 women to Congress than any other decade, and that record remained, according to Rutgers. This election followed the testimony of Professor Anita Hill on allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas in his confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Congress Democratic candidate Sharice Davids meets with a volunteer from her campaign office on October 1, 2018, in Overland Park, Kansas. (Photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)
This year, women have broken records for winning primaries, state legislatures to governorates in Congress, according to the CAWP. Their historic participation follows the massive women's march against Trump's presidency and the #MeToo protest against sexual misconduct in the workplace.
Some candidates shared their own #MeToo movement stories in their campaigns. Others have included their children in campaign ads and, in some cases, even breastfed them. Another candidate, Liuba Grechen Shirley, Democrat on Long Island, has received approval from the Federal Election Commission to use election campaign funds for child care expenses related to the campaign.
"For me, women win because they have run, whether they win or not," Walsh said.
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Contributor: Matt Wynn, John Kelly
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