In 2018, an unprecedented number of women ran for office. Of the candidates on ballots for House, Senate, governorships and state legislative seats, a record 3,638 were women.

Many of these women ran for some of the nation’s highest offices and won their respective races, assuring that women will be well-represented in all levels of public office across the country.=

More women are expected to serve in the 116th Congress than ever before. Some votes are still being counted, but here are the number of congressional seats and governorships women won on Tuesday night as of today:

 

  • So far, 101 women have been elected to the House of Representatives, exceeding 100 for the first time in U.S. history.
  • So far, 13 women have been elected to the U.S. Senate.
  • 9 women have been elected governor.

 

When reporting election success for women, the mainstream media has almost exclusively focused on the female candidates who ran as Democrats and how they played a major role in helping Democrats win the House majority. For example, here is an excerpt from a recent article in The Washington Post:

 

More than 100 women were projected to win seats in the House of Representatives, easily shattering the record. Overwhelmingly they were Democrats who helped the party take control of the chamber.

……

“Women made history in a number of ways and were a significant force in flipping many districts from red to blue,” said Kelly Dittmar, a political scientist at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

 

But it’s not just Democratic women who made history. Many Republican women marked impressive milestones as well. Why have we heard so little about these historic wins from the media? Their achievements ought to be celebrated, too. Here are a few so far:

 

  • Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) will become Tennessee’s first female senator.
  • Kristi Noem (R-SD) will become South Dakota’s first female governor.
  • Kim Reynolds (R-IA) will become Iowa’s first elected female governor.
  • Young Kim (R-CA) will become the first female Korean-American to be elected to Congress in U.S. history.
  • Yvette Herrell (R-NM), along with Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Deb Haaland (D-NM), will become the first Native American congresswoman

 

Women bring a unique perspective to critical issues like the economy, health care, immigration, education and more. If we want to encourage women to serve in important leadership positions, then we should recognize and champion ALL women who run for office and win.

Let’s give a big round of applause for ALL women who won on Tuesday night, not just those that the media is celebrating who fall on the left side of the political spectrum. #ChampionWomen