Record number of women appear headed for Congress
More than 100 women were projected to win seats in the House of Representatives, easily shattering the record. Overwhelmingly, they awere Democrats who helped the party take control of the chamber.
Women have never held more than 84 of the 435 seats in the House. By 1 a.m. Wednesday as the votes were still being counted, 85 had already been declared winners.
“Women made history in a number of ways and were a significant force in flipping many districts from red to blue,” said Kelly Dittmar, a political scientist at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Many of the winning candidates campaigned on the need for better health care for all Americans. They come from a wide variety of backgrounds from military veterans to teachers - and many had never run for office before.
Women made inroads in gubernatorial races, too, which are particularly important because of the upcoming redistricting battles. In Kansas and Michigan, women flipped states that had been under GOP control.
Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly defeated Republican Kris Kobach, whom Trump had campaigned with recently in Kansas.