Women Will Hold Record Number of Senate Seats
Though Democrats will maintain control of the Senate in 2013, the makeup of the upper body will change in at least one important way: more female senators will be serving than at any other point in history.
Following Tuesday's election, women will hold at least 19 seats in the upper chamber, with the North Dakota race not yet called (but Heidi Heitkamp leading).
17 women currently serve in the Senate -- a record number as well -- but with Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, retiring at the end of this term, it was unclear whether women might lose ground in the chamber.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has pushed particularly hard to get more women elected to Congress, founding the "Off the Sidelines" PAC in the hopes of bringing female representation in Congress closer to their representation within the U.S. population: 51%. With Tuesday night's victories that number could reach 20% in the Senate.
Leave A Comment