2020 Election Watch: Notable Firsts Gender Diversity

While many 2020 races remain undecided, including the Presidential, many women made herstory this week up and down the ballot. These victories include 87 women elected to statewide executive positions including 15 women of color, and at least 134 women serving in the 117th Congress with at least 43 women of color.

State Legislatures: several women made history at the state level this year including …

1. Jenifer Rajkumar: a RepresentWomen board member, Rajkumar was elected to represent New York’s 38th district in the New York General Assembly. She is the first Indian American to serve in the Assembly.
2. Sarah McBride: was elected to the Delaware State Senate, McBride is the first openly transgender person to serve as a State Senator in U.S. history.
3. Madinah Wilson-Anton: was elected to the Delaware General Assembly, she is the first practicing Muslim to serve in the state’s legislature.
4. Taylor Small: was elected to serve in the Vermont State Legislature, Small will be the first openly transgender person serving in the legislative body.
5. Mauree Turner: achieved two historic firsts when they were elected to the Oklahoma State Legislature. Turner is the first Muslim lawmaker elected in Oklahoma and the first non-binary state legislator in U.S. history.
6. Stephanie Byers: a member of the Chickasaw Nation was elected to the Kansas State Legislature. Byers is not only the first openly transgender person elected to the legislature, but also the first transgender person of color to serve as a state legislator in U.S. history.
7. Tarra Simmons: was elected to the Washington State Legislature. Simmons is the first person previously convicted of a felony to serve in the legislature. To learn more about the representation of incarcerated women and Simmons take a look at RepresentWomen’s Brief on Incarcerated Women.

The 117th Congress: will include at least 134 women, with at least 109 women in the House of Representatives and 25 women in the Senate. Some of the women making herstory this year include …

1. New Mexico: elected the state’s first all-woman (and all-woman of color) House delegation. The delegation include Deb Haaland a member of the Laguna Pueblo Nation, Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Yvette Herrell a member of the Cherokee Nation.
2. Cori Bush: was elected to serve Missouri’s first Congressional district. Bush a Black Lives Matter activist is the first ever Black woman to represent the state in Congress.
3. Marilyn Strickland: was elected to represent Washington’s tenth Congressional district. Strickland is the first Black woman in the State’s Congressional delegation.
4. Republican women: drove many of the Republican gains in Congress this cycle, with at least 14 non-incumbent Republican women winning their elections (a record for Republican women). Some of these winners include: Kat Cammak the first Republican woman to represent Florida’s 3rd district and Cynthia Lummis the first woman elected Senator of Wyoming.

Local progress toward parity: a couple city and tribal councils achieved gender parity this week, including…

1. Washington, DC: the city council will be majority women for the first time since the 1990s and majority Black for the first time since 2012. Wins for women include Christina Henderson’s victory in the highly contested at-large seat, Brooke Pinto in Ward 2, and Janeese Lewis George in Ward 4.
2. Northern Cheyenne Tribe: elected all women to the five open tribal council seats and the Tribal presidency and vice presidency. Winners include, President-elect Donna Marie Fischer, Vice President-elect Serena Brady Wetherelt, Melissa Rae Fischer, Gwen Talawyma, Norma Gourneau, Silver Little Eagle, and Debra Waters Charette. Women now make up 70% of the Tribal Council and 100% of the Tribal executives. To learn more about Indigenous women’s political representation in the U.S. read RepresentWomen’s Brief on the State of Native Women’s Representation.
3. Natalia Macker: re-won her seat on the Jackson Hole County Commission race by very wide margins. Macker’s second term goals include, improving access to childcare, funding human services and improving water quality.

Uncalled Congressional Races: of the 28 uncalled House races, 17 feature at least one woman and three have the potential to make history for women’s firsts, including …

1. The California 39th: features Young Kim (R) with 90% of votes reported, Kim stands slightly ahead with 50.3% of the votes. Should Kim win, she will be the first Korean-American woman to serve in Congress.
2. The California 48th: features Michelle Steel (R) with 94% of votes reported Steel holds 50.4% of the vote. If she is successful, Steel like Kim will be the first Korean-American woman in Congress.
3. The Texas 24th: features Candace Valenzuela (D) with 88% of votes reported Valenzuela holds 47.5% of the vote compared to competitor Beth Van Duyne (R) with 48.8%. If elected Valenzuela would be the first Black Latina to serve in Congress.