The power of politics used to be held largely in the hands of men, but as of Election night, women are taking some weight off of their shoulders. Women were elected to Congress in record numbers.
Most major news sources have projected President-elect Joe Biden (D) and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (D) to win, but that has not been confirmed in the Electoral College. Key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia have margins so close that recounts and recanvassing are necessary. The Trump administration is pursuing legal action in a bid to keep the White House.
What the nation may not know, despite the heightened focus on the political atmosphere in the country, is that women were elected to represent the states in record-breaking numbers.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, (CAWP) at least 135 (103 Democrats, 32 Republicans) women will serve in the 117th Congress. This breaks the previous record of 127 in 2019. Several races remain too close to call that include women candidates, including a runoff election in Georgia that will be decided in January 2021.
“CAWP has been a nonpartisan voice that is central to creating awareness and understanding of women’s political participation,” according to their mission statement.
CAWP released the following information on their website, which can be accessed here.
- At least 111 (87 Democrats, 24 Republican) women will serve in the U.S. House (previous record: 102 set in 2019), including 44 (42 Democrats, 2 Republicans) women of color. Women will be at least 25.5% of all members of the U.S. House. Women are currently 23.2% of House members in 2020.
- Twenty-four (16 Democrats, 8 Republicans) women will serve in the U.S. Senate (current record: 26 set in 2020), including three Democratic women of color. Women will compose at least 24% of the Senate. Women currently account for 26% of all members of the Senate. This does not include Sen. Kamala Harris. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (Republican) has advanced to a runoff in the special election for the seat she is seeking in Georgia.
- At least 44 (42 Democrats, 2 Republicans) women of color will serve in the U.S. House which ties the current record of 44 which was set in 2019.
Besides the increase of women serving in Congress, the freshman class will see at least 22 challengers that defeated both male and female incumbents.
According to CAWP Director Debbie Walsh, the results didn’t come easy and much hard work has gone into getting women elected into a male- dominated system.
“Successes like these don’t just happen,” Walsh said. “They require the dedicated attention of parties, donors, activists, and voters, as is particularly evident from the expanded number of Republican women candidates this year. It takes hard work. And the work continues.”
Women did not only play a role in the national political spectrum this election cycle but also on the state level. According to CAWP, at least 92 (50 Democrats, 40 Republicans, 2 Non-partisan) women will serve in statewide elected executive offices in 2021.
- Seventeen (14 Democrats, 3 Republicans) women of color
- Women will be at least 29.7% of all statewide elected executive officials
- Women currently hold 28.9% of these positions in 2020
In the Kentucky legislature, 34 currently hold a seat. There are a total of 138 seats in the legislature, meaning that women hold nearly 25% of them.
At the end of the 2020 election cycle, there is no denying that women are playing a large role in the U.S. political system and the gender gap in political respects are lessening.
The MKYGuide decided to pursue a story on the historic number of women elected to Congress during the November 2020 election cycle. We believe that it is important to identify and acknowledge the role that women are playing in society, and are playing in politics. We believe that the Center for American Women and Politics was the best source of information regarding women in politics due to their credibility and advocacy for all women, regardless of political affiliation and regardless of ethnicity.
The exact women who won their respective elections are not mentioned in the story. This is because we feel the need to highlight all of the women who won and didn’t want to highlight the winners based on their political affiliation or emphasize the races beyond the surface.
As mentioned in the story, Georgia currently has two run-off races for the U.S. Senate. These races are important because they will decide whether the majority in the Senate is retained in Republican control or flipped to Democratic control.
The MKYGuide strives to maintain transparency and neutrality. We believe that we emphasized the success that women had in the elections without jeopardizing our credibility of transparency and neutrality.