Record Number of Democratic Women Elected to Congress in Historic Midterms

More than 100 Democratic women have been elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives — a historic high and an increase of more than 60% over the past decade, according to the Democratic Women’s Caucus.

The wins come amid a wave of Democratic victories in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which saw the party regain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

A particularly notable win was that of Melat Kiros, a 29-year-old democratic socialist who defeated the Republican Christy Peterson to win Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. She’s the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress and will be Colorado's first Black woman to serve in the chamber.

Kiros, an Ethiopian immigrant and former lawyer, defeated a longtime Democratic incumbent and her election signals a generational shift in the party. 

“Young people understand that we are in the fight of our lives,” she told NPR in an interview back in February. "We need to have leaders that are going to be fighting for the kind of bold policies that actually get something done, and they're refusing to settle or wait for our turn or ask for permission.”

Elsewhere, Democrat Marcy Kaptur secured re-election in Ohio, extending her record as the longest-serving woman in congressional history. Kaptur was first elected in 1982. 

There were historic wins in the Senate, too. In Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, became the first Native American woman elected to the chamber. 

Meanwhile, Juliana Stratton, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, won in Illinois, becoming the state's second Black woman elected to the Senate. Her victory means that, for the first time in U.S. history, three Black women will serve in the Senate simultaneously: Stratton, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland.

Illinois will also become the first state represented by two women of color in the chamber, with Stratton joining Senator Tammy Duckworth.

“The millions of women who showed up at the polls voted for a better future for all women and girls,” said Teresa Leger Fernández, chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, in a statement. “Their rights to healthcare, childcare, and even their right to vote was on the line. Women have borne the brunt of the Trump administration’s recklessness and Republicans’ extremist agenda, and on Tuesday they made it clear they have had enough,” she added.