2022 proved to be another important year for women’s representation in Congress with records broken and new firsts. The 117th Congress had set a record for women serving in Congress. This year, women candidates for Congress broke that record, making 2022 another historic election year for women’s representation–153 women will serve in the 118th Congress, including Delegates. This number includes 19 Senators and one Delegate who were not up for reelection this year. It also includes Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) whose race has not been called officially at press time; a state-mandated recount is underway. However, her opponent has conceded, and she is expected to serve in the next Congress.
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, a record 658 women ran for Congress in 2022 and 287 women (including Delegates) won their primaries and appeared on the ballot on Election Day—30 fewer women than in the record-breaking 2020 election cycle. There were 37 elections in which both of the top candidates were women.
Democrats will retain control of the Senate with 51 seats. Women will make up 25 seats in the 118th Senate—16 Democrats and 9 Republicans.
Incumbent Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) were successful in their reelection bids. Sen.-elect Katie Britt (R-AL) will be the only new woman Senator serving in the 118th Congress.
With Sen. Cortez Masto’s reelection, Nevada (Sens. Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen); Minnesota (Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith); New Hampshire (Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan); and Washington (Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell) will each continue to be represented by two women Senators.
Three women of color will serve in the Senate in the 118th Congress: Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Sen. Cortez Masto (D-NV).
Black women set a new record as candidates for the Senate with 22 women running for seats.
With Republicans securing 222 seats in the House, they will be the majority party in the House in the 118th Congress. At press time, 128 women will be serving in the House in the next Congress—93 Democrats and 35 Republicans, including four women Delegates.
The first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has decided to end her tenure as Speaker at the end of this Congress. She served 15 years as the Speaker of the House and five years as the House Minority Leader. Speaker Pelosi’s election to these leadership positions marked historic milestones for women’s representation in Congress.
22 incumbent women Members of the House will be leaving office in December. Included in this number is Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) who passed away in August. Nine women Members announced their retirement and did not seek re-election: Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Connie Conway (R-CA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Cheri Bustos (D-IL), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). Five women Members lost their party’s primary elections: Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-GA), Marie Newman (D-IL), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), and Liz Cheney (R-WY). Among the races called as of press time, four women incumbents lost their general election races: Reps. Elaine Luria (D-VA), Mayra Flores (R-TX), Cindy Axne (D-IA), and Yvette Herrell (R-NM). In addition, three women Members sought other public offices: Val Demings (D-FL) and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), who both ran and lost their races for the U.S. Senate, and Karen Bass (D-CA) who successfully ran for mayor of Los Angeles, CA, becoming the first woman elected to this position.
There will be 59 women of color serving in the House in the next Congress, including Delegates. A record 85 women who ran for the House were Latina or Hispanic. Black women also set a new record with 134 Black women running for the House. Rep.-elect Delia Ramirez (D-IL) will be the first Latina Member of Congress from the Midwest. Reps.-elect Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) and Andrea Salinas (D-OR) are Oregon’s first Latina Congresswomen. Rep.-elect Summer Lee (D-PA) will be the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress. Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) will be the first Washington Democrat from a Hispanic/Latina background elected to Congress. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO) will be Colorado’s first Hispanic/Latina Congresswoman. Rep.-elect Becca Balint (D-VT) will be the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to serve Vermont in Congress. For the first time in our nation’s history, each state has elected a woman to Congress. Vermont is the only state that has not yet elected a woman. Rep.-elect Balint now joins Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN) and Sharice Davids (D-KS) to bring the total number of openly LGBTQ congresswomen from two to three.
Sen.-elect Katie Britt (R-AL) defeated Will Boyd (D-AL) for the seat left open by the retirement of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL). She served as campaign manager and chief of staff for her predecessor, Sen. Shelby.
Rep.-elect Becca Balint (D-VT) defeated Liam Madden (R-VT) for the seat left open by Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), who ran successfully for Senate. She was the first woman and first openly LGBTQ person to serve as president pro tempore in the Vermont state senate. She is now the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to represent Vermont in Congress.
Rep.-elect Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) defeated Regan Deering (R-IL) in the newly drawn district left open by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL), who ran to represent another district. She is a former labor activist and was a senior adviser for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker. She served as chief of staff of the Office of Management and Budget under the Biden Administration.
Rep.-elect Yadira Caraveo (D-CO) defeated Barbara Kirkmeyer (R-CO) in a new congressional district created during redistricting. She worked as a pediatrician while serving as a Colorado state representative. She is Colorado’s first Latina Congresswoman.
Rep.-elect Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D-OR) who defeated incumbent Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) in the Democratic primary. She served on her local city council, later becoming the city’s first woman and Latina mayor. She co-owns and manages several medical clinics. Reps.-elect Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) and Salinas (D-OR) are Oregon’s first Latina Congresswomen.
Rep.-elect Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) defeated James Rodgers (R-TX) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX). She was a Texas state representative and a civil rights and criminal defense attorney. She was the youngest Black member and the sole Black freshman in the Texas House of Representatives during its 87th legislative session.
Rep.-elect Monica De La Cruz-Hernandez (R-TX) defeated Michelle Vallejo (D-TX) for the seat left open by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, Jr. (D-TX), who ran in another district. She is an entrepreneur who worked for TNT and Cartoon Network Latin America in Georgia before returning to the Rio Grande Valley to become an insurance agent.
Rep.-elect Valerie Foushee (D-NC) defeated Courtney Geels (R-NC) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. David Price (D-NC). She was on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board before serving in North Carolina’s House of Representatives and Senate. Previously, she was elected as the first Black woman on the Orange County Board of Commissioners.
Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) defeated Joe Kent (R-WA) for a seat left open by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), who lost in her party’s primary. She is co-owner of a small auto-repair business. She will be the first Washington Democrat from a Hispanic/Latina background elected to Congress.
Rep.-elect Harriet Hageman (R-WY) defeated Lynnette Grey Bull (D-WY) for the seat previously occupied by Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who Rep.-elect Hageman defeated in the Republican primary. She is a lawyer whose career primarily has focused on water and land use issues.
Rep.-elect Erin Houchin (R-IN) defeated Matthew Fyfe (D-IN) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN). She served as a state senator and regional director of southeast Indiana for former Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN). She is a small business owner and founder of a communications company.
Rep.-elect Val Hoyle (D-OR) defeated Alek Skarlatos (R-OR) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR). She served as a director at United Way of Lane County before joining Oregon’s House of Representatives where she was the majority leader. Most recently, she was the Oregon Commissioner of Labor.
Rep.-elect Sydney Kamlager (D-CA) defeated Jan Perry (D-CA) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA). She served in the California state legislature where she co-authored the CROWN Act. She previously worked as the district director for former state senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-CA).
Rep.-elect Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA) defeated incumbent Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA). She is a geriatric nurse and a Virginia state senator. She previously served as a pilot in the United States Navy and worked as an English teacher in Japan.
Rep.-elect Laurel Lee (R-FL) defeated Alan Cohn (D-FL) in the district left open by Rep. Scott Franklin (R-FL), who ran for another Florida district. She worked as an attorney for more than two decades and previously served as Florida’s secretary of state.
Rep.-elect Summer Lee (D-PA) defeated Michael Doyle (R-PA) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Fred Keller (R-PA). In 2018, she successfully defeated a 20-year incumbent for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She also co-founded a grassroots voter advocacy organization. She is the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress.
Rep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) defeated Eric Lynn (D-FL) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL). She is an Air Force veteran and small business owner. Previously, she served as the national director of Hispanic Engagement at Turning Point USA. She is the first Mexican American woman elected to Congress from Florida.
Rep.-elect Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) defeated Erik Aadland (R-CO) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO). She served in the Colorado state senate and its house of representatives.
Rep.-elect Delia Ramirez (D-IL) defeated Justin Burau (R-IL) in the district left open by Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL), who ran in another district. She is an activist and community leader who was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 2018. She is the first Latina Member of Congress from the Midwest.
Rep.-elect Andrea Salinas (D-OR) defeated Mike Erickson (R-OR) for a new seat created by redistricting. She is a former member of Oregon’s House of Representatives, where she served as the majority whip and health care committee chair. Reps.-elect Salinas (D-OR) and Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) are Oregon’s first Latina Congresswomen.
Rep.-elect Hillary Scholten (D-MI) defeated John Gibbs (R-MI) for a seat left open by incumbent Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who was defeated in the Republican primary. She previously led her own summer program that aided homeless women and their children and later served in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Rep.-elect Emilia Sykes (D-OH) defeated Madison Gesiotto Gilbert (R-OH) in the seat left open by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who ran for the Senate. She is a former member of Ohio’s House of Representatives, where she served as the minority leader and created the Black Maternal Health Caucus.
Rep.-elect Jill Tokuda (D-HI) defeated Joseph Akana (R-HI) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Kai Kahele (D-HI). She is a long-time member of the Hawaii state legislature, where she chaired two committees: Labor and Education, and Ways and Means.
