American mothers are waking up in a different world today. A world where more is possible for women
and for the generation of girls we are raising.

As of Wednesday morning,

116 women

were leading or elected in their Congress and gubernatorial contests.

???

While the number of women in the Senate is slightly down, the overall gains in the house signal a
new era for women in American politics.

Tennessee elected its first woman senator in Republican mother-of-two Marsha Blackburn.

Illinois Democrat Lauren Underwood became the first woman ever elected to Congress in the state’s
14th district.

Minnesota made history by sending Ilhan Omar (a Muslim, Somali-American mother-of-three) to
Congress.

And these are just a few of the women making history today. There are so many more.

Millennial Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress at 29 years old.

Mother-of-four Angie Craig is now the first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Minnesota.

New Mexico and Kansas sent the first Native-American women to Congress, electing Debra Haaland and
Sharice Davids, both Democrats.

In South Dakota, Republican mother-of-three Kristi Noem will be the first woman governor in that
state.


What does this mean for the mamas of America? It means more representation. It means there are more
lawmakers who know what it’s like to struggle to find childcare, to have to struggle for equal pay,
and to not have access to paid parental leave.

When legislators understand what American women are facing (because they’ve faced it themselves)
the chances of policies that support women and families succeeding is greater.

When girls see women who look like them holding political office, the chances that they will
consider a run one day are greater.

When a government looks more like the people it represents, it is greater.

Today, these women are making history. Tomorrow, they’ll make changes.

[Correction, November 7, 2018: A previous version of this post stated that Illinois’ Lauren
Underwood became the first woman ever elected to Congress in her state. It should have read “Lauren
Underwood became the first woman ever elected to Congress her state’s 14th district.” We regret
this error.]

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