Election 2018 Results: Record Number Of Women To Serve In 116th Congress

Last Tuesday’s midterms proved a historical night for women and minorities. Although some races have not yet been called, voters elected more women than ever before to serve in the 116th Congress.

At least 121 women will serve as lawmakers compared to the current 107. According to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, 23 percent of the seats in Congress will be served by women.

There will be at least 23 female senators, and more than 100 in the House of Representatives. Within the record-breaking group are several firsts, LGBTQ, Native American, Muslim and the youngest woman ever to serve in Congress.

Congresswoman-elect Ayanna Pressley is the first black woman elected to the house from Massachusetts said, “I am so honored to share both the ballot and the stage with the many visionary, bold women who have raised their hand to run for public office."

New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman in history to be elected to Congress, while the first two Muslim-American women were also elected to the House: Democrats Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

During her victory speech, Omar told her supporters, “Here in Minnesota, we don’t only welcome immigrants, we send them to Washington.”

According to CNN exit polls, an overwhelming majority of Americans agreed that it’s important to elect more women to serve in public office.

One of the closest watched races was the Arizona Senate race where Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally, both members of the House, battled to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake. In a tight race, Sinema became Arizona’s first female senator and its first Democratic Senator since 1994.

In a Twitter post, Sinema stated: “As long as I served Arizona, I’ve worked to help others see our common humanity and find common ground. That’s the same approach I’ll take to representing our great state in the Senate, where I’ll be an independent voice for all Arizonans. Thank you. Let’s get to work."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York offered advice to the new women joining Congress.

“First piece of advice I would give is to follow your heart,” she said. “Bring the passion that got you elected to Washington to make things better for people. Our job is fundamentally to help people.”