The 2018 Midterms Saw Women Winning in Record-Breaking Numbers

A historic number of women dominated the polls on Tuesday, November 6. Projections vary, but the morning after the 2018 midterms CNN reported that 100 women are expected on their way to Congress, helping push the Democrats to retake control of the House of Representatives. Twelve women were elected to the Senate, according to CNN.

The House wins are set to make for more than 100 women serving in the House in its upcoming term; according to CNN, the Congressional Research Service says the most women to serve in the house in a single session prior to the up-coming one was 85.

“Women led the charge tonight in flipping the House for the Democratic Party and in picking up key seats in state legislatures nationwide,” Andrea Dew Steele said in a press release. Steele is the president and founder of Emerge America, which recruits and trains Democratic women running for office. “This isn’t a moment, it is a movement for justice, equality and what is right for this country.”

The women who took home victories include an incredible number of firsts, including the first-ever Muslim women in Congress Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib and Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar and the youngest women ever elected to Congress with New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and new Iowa rep Abby Finkenauer, both age 29.

Moreover, 2018 boosted wins for women of color. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is the first black U.S. representative in the state’s history. She made waves during the primary this year after unseating a longtime incumbent Rep. Michael Capuano.

Tuesday night also brought in the two first-ever Native American women elected to Congress, Democrats Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland of Kansas and New Mexico, respectively, and the first two Hispanic women to represent Texas in Congress with Democrats Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia.

Rashida Tlaib, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, is also the first Palestinian woman in Congress. Democrat Lauren Underwood took a seat in Illinois, unseating her Republican opponent in the process and flipping a district that typically votes Republican. And former National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes became the first black woman to represent Connecticut.

Other wins for women of color include incumbents Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware; Rep. Sheila Jackson in Texas; Rep. Nydia Velazquez in New York; Rep. Yvette Clarke in New York; Rep. Gwen Moore in Wisconson; and Sen. Mazie Hirono in Hawaii.

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