Year of the Republican Woman: A record-setting 18 new GOP women to enter Congress in January
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/year-republican-woman-record-setting-17-new-gop-women-will-enter-congressA record-setting 18 (at least) new women are joining the GOP ranks in Congress next year, with one more leading a race in New York that hasn't been called yet.
Michael McAdams, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Just the News that a record 94 GOP women ran for Congress this cycle, which helped lead to this new milestone under the leadership of Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).
The new crop of Republican women includes a daughter of Greek and Cuban immigrants, two Asian-Americans, a Ukrainian immigrant, and the first female graduate of the Citadel, a prominent military college in Charleston, S.C.
"From day one, Chairman Emmer made it a priority to recruit the most diverse class in history, and the results speak for themselves," McAdams told Just the News. "House Republicans have flipped 14 seats, and every one of those seats has been flipped by a female, minority and/or veteran candidate."
Ariel Judah, co-chair of the RightNOW Women PAC, a fundraising political action committee for Republican women, told "Just the News AM" television program that 2018 was a wake-up call after GOP women heavily trailed Democratic women at the ballot box. In 2018, Democrats saw the rise of the female "Squad" with outspoken members like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
"I think what happened is the party saw that in 2018, we only elected one new Republican woman to Congress, and we needed to do something different," Judah said. "So people like Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) really focused on recruiting these candidates that fit their districts, training them, supporting them early so they could get over that burden of the primary that has really hampered a lot of Republican women candidates in the past. And it looks like we were successful this time."
Many new Republicans who won the election are women.
The 18* new Republican women entering the halls of Congress in January:
Young Kim (CA-39)
Michelle Steel (CA-48)
Lauren Boebert (CO-03)
Kat Cammack (FL-03)
Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27)
Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14)
Ashley Hinson (IA-01)
Marianette Miller-Meeks (IA-02)
Mary Miller (IL-15)
Victoria Spartz (IN-05)
Lisa McClain (MI-10)
Michelle Fischbach (MN-07)
Yvette Herrell (NM-02)
Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)
Stephanie Bice (OK-05)
Nancy Mace (SC-01)
Diana Harshbarger (TN-01)
Beth Van Duyne (TX-24)
* In New York's 22nd District, Republican Claudia Tenney clings to a 13-vote lead as of Dec. 1 over Democratic incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi in a see-sawing race that still hasn't been called.
