Big Gains For Women Made At House Victories

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Although the big public races that could have redefined the direction of certain states (Beto O’Rourke in Texas, Andrew Gillum in Florida) didn’t generate the wins that the media narratives so wanted (although in Beto’s case, 48.3 for a Democrat in Texas is IMPRESSIVE), the biggest story of the night, aside from Democrats retaking the House of Representatives, was how many of those wins belonged to women and women of color, giving us the greatest amount of women heading to congress in any era.

Thirty one women newly elected to the house will be joining sixty five female incumbents as they join to give the House its greatest female representation in American history. This is an incredible gain, especially in an age when the the atmosphere for women in politics can be toxic due to the efforts of the executive branch.

Some of the more exciting gains include that of Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico who will be the first two Native American women to hold positions in congress — a massive gain

Democrats Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland will become the first Native American women elected to Congress, CNN projected. Davids’ win in Kansas against GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder was a pickup for Democrats, who CNN projects to gain control of the House. Davids is a part of the Ho-Chunk Nation and Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. Additionally, the lesbian Davids will be the first openly LGBTQ Kansas member of congress, and was in the past an MMA fighter, which is pretty great.

Additionally, big gains were made for Muslim women. Rashida Tilab and Ilhan Omar, or Michigan and Minnesota. Tilab will be replacing Michigan Democrat John Conyers who existed his seat due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Omar will also be the first Somali-American to be in congress, and her story — being a refugee from twenty years ago — is sure to be one that is important to the story of the country as we move forward.

Ayanna Pressley additionally is the fist black woman to be elected to the house from Massachusetts and Alexandra-Ocasion Cortez has been elected as the youngest woman to ever be elected to congress, and

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