More Women Than Ever Are Heading to Congress

The 2018 midterm elections delivered some historic results, including a big shift toward women in Congress. More women than ever before are heading to Washington – possibly as many as 100 will now serve in the House of Representatives.

Among those "firsts" in the House, Massachusetts and Connecticut will also send black women to Congress for the first time.

"None of us ran to make history," said Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat who will represent Massachusetts' 7th Congressional District in the next Congress. She defeated a 10-term incumbent in the Democratic primary. "We ran to make change. However, the historical significance of this evening is not lost on me. The significance of history is not lost on me."

In the Senate, Republican Marsha Blackburn won her race to become the first woman senator from Tennessee, and Democrat Jacky Rosen has won in a Senate takeaway from the GOP in Nevada. 

Arizona is also sending a woman to the Senate for the first time: either Republican Martha McSally or Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, but the race has been too close to call. 

Over in the House, there are a bunch of other firsts taking place. Two Muslim women were elected, including Rashida Tlaib from Michigan and Illhan Omar from Minnesota. 

And Democrat Deb Haaland defeated Republican Janice Arnold-Jones for New Mexico's 1st congressional district seat. This makes her the first Native American woman in the House of Representatives. Native American Sharice Davids also won in Kansas.  

Liberals also marked some big "firsts" in other races on Election Day. Socialist Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman to be elected to Congress. She is 29 years old. And Colorado elected the first openly homosexual governor, Jared Polis.