With the 2018 mid-term elections having brought in 35 new women legislators to the U.S. Congress - adding to the existing 70 or so women- the nation’s governing body has become the most diverse by gender and race in history.
Of the 102 female members of congress, 89 are Democrats, while just 13 are Republican.
This is not a good optic for Republicans, and they know it. U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R) recently told POLITICO that Republicans were “falling way short” in recruiting women to run for the U.S. Congress.
“We are breaking out of the mold, I think, of the stodgy all-male club, and it’s been a gradual thing” Capito said. “I think this year is going to make a big impact.”
Democrats are seizing the moment, as incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) has already using the influx of women legislators to further her and the Democratic Party’s appeal.
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) is also doing her part to welcome the new “Moms in the House.”
Wasserman Schultz has launched her “Moms in the House” caucus to work as a “support network” so that “moms” can “work together” in the Congress.
A record number of women were elected to Congress in November. That's why I'm creating the "Moms in the House" caucus to serve as a support network and a sisterhood that will allow moms in Congress to work together and learn from each other.
— Debbie Wasserman Schultz (@DWStweets) December 4, 2018
