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A photo composite of some of the new faces in the House of Representatives.
(Photo composite by Clarice Bajkowski)

Election 2020

Meet the new women in the House of Representatives

There will be 27 new congresswomen joining the House in 2021, and most of them are Republicans.

Alexis Lanza

Reporting Fellow

Published

2020-12-17 16:20
4:20
December 17, 2020
pm

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The House of Representatives will welcome 27 non-incumbent congresswomen in 2021, bringing the total number of women serving to 118. This breaks the previous record, set in 2018, of 102 women in the House.  

Republican women had a particularly strong year. In 2018, only one non-incumbent Republican woman was elected, and 13 Republican women were serving in the House. Of the non-incumbent women elected in 2020, 18 are Republicans and nine are Democrats. 

The 117th Congress will also be one of the most diverse in history, breaking records for the number of Black women, the number of Latinas, and the number of Asian or Pacific Islander women in the House. 

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Here are the women who will join the House of Representatives next year. 

Stephanie Bice defeated Democratic incumbent Kendra Horn to represent Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District. The complete but unofficial results of the race show that Bice, a Republican, received 52 percent of the vote. She ran a conservative campaign focused on addressing immigration, protecting the Second Amendment and supporting anti-abortion policies, as well as improving infrastructure and fighting for affordable health care among other issues. 

Lauren Boebert will be the first woman to represent Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. The Republican ran on a promise to support President Donald Trump’s political agenda, protect the Second Amendment and stand up for the conservative values of her constituents. Boebert, a restaurant owner and mother of four sons, has never held political office. 

Carolyn Bourdeaux is a Democrat who will represent Georgia’s 7th Congressional District. After an unsuccessful campaign in 2018, she was able to flip the district in 2020 by defeating first-time Republican candidate Rich McCormick. Bourdeaux began her career in politics as an aide to Oregon’s Sen. Ron Wyden. After seeing her own family struggle with health care costs, she focused her campaign on providing Georgians with affordable health care.  

Cori Bush will be the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress. She defeated Republican Anthony Rogers in the race to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District after upsetting 10-term congressman William Lacy Clay in the primaries. Bush is a nurse, a pastor and a Black Lives Matter activist. 

Kat Cammack will be the youngest Republican woman in Congress after winning the race to represent Florida’s 3rd Congressional District against Democrat Adam Christiansen. After serving as Rep. Ted Yoho’s chief of staff for eight years, Cammack, 32, ran to take over his seat after he announced his retirement. She ran on an America first agenda, wanting to bring back jobs to the U.S., improve health care and support law enforcement. 

Michelle Fischbach will represent Minnesota’s 7th District after unseating Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who was first elected in 1991. Fischbach previously served as a state senator and as lieutenant governor of Minnesota. Now, she has succeeded in flipping a long-time Democratic district that has been shifting to the right over the years. 

Marjorie Taylor Greene ran unopposed after her Democratic opponent, Kevin Van Ausdal, dropped out of the race. She will represent Georgia’s conservative 14th Congressional District. Trump endorsed Greene, calling her a “future Republican star.” She is the first member of Congress to openly share her belief in the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon. 

Diana Harshbarger will represent Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District after easily defeating Democrat Blair Walsingham. She has never held public office, but was the clear favorite going into the election. She is a licensed pharmacist and campaigned, in part, on solving the opioid crisis. 

Yvette Herrell will represent New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District after winning a rematch with Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small. Herrell narrowly lost to Small in 2018, but won by a margin of about 8 points in 2020. She previously served in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019. As a member of the Cherokee Nation, she is the third Native American woman to be elected to Congress. 

Ashley Hinson will represent Iowa’s 1st Congressional District after defeating Democratic incumbent Abby Finkenauer. She was the first woman to represent Iowa’s 67th district in the Iowa House of Representatives. Before her start in politics she was a reporter for KCRG-TV. Hinson’s campaign focused on creating jobs, opposing Medicare for all and holding China accountable, among other issues. 

Sara Jacobs will represent California’s 53rd Congressional District, defeating fellow Democrat Georgette Gómez. She launched her campaign after incumbent Susan Davis announced she would not seek reelection in 2019 after 10 terms. Jacobs ran on a progressive agenda of prioritizing racial justice at the federal level and helping small businesses survive the pandemic. 

Young Kim will be one of the first three Korean American congresswomen in the country after winning the race for representative of California’s 39th Congressional District. Kim defeated incumbent Democrat Gil Cisneros after losing to him in 2018, when the district flipped for Democrats. She ran on the promise to work past partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. 

Teresa Leger will be the first woman to represent New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District. She defeated Republican candidate Alexis Johnson with about 58 percent of the vote in the historically Democratic district. Previously, Leger served as a White House fellow under President Bill Clinton and founded a law firm focused on social impact.

Nancy Mace will be the first Republican woman to represent South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. She defeated Democrat Joe Cunningham, who served one term, in a highly competitive race. In 2018, Cunningham flipped the district, but Mace’s victory put Republicans back in control. Mace was endorsed by Trump. 

Nicole Malliotakis will represent New York’s 11th Congressional District, the most conservative district in New York City, after unseating Democratic Rep. Max Rose. Malliotakis was elected to the New York State Assembly in 2010 and focused her efforts on helping her constituents recover from Hurricane Sandy and lowering taxes. She ran for Congress with a focus on many issues, including investing in the military, strengthening border security and protecting the environment. 

Marionette Miller-Meeks will represent Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District after defeating Democrat Rita Hart in one of the closest congressional races in history. She won the open seat vacated by Rep. Dave Loebsack, who is retiring after 14 years, flipping the district to Republican control. Miller-Meeks focused her campaign on holding government officials accountable. 

Kathy Manning will represent North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District after easily defeating Republican challenger Lee Haywood. A court ordered the state’s legislature to redraw all district maps in 2019, stating that the map unfairly favored Republican voters. She flipped the formerly Republican seat and will replace Rep. Mark Walker, who planned to retire at the end of this term. Manning focused her campaign on providing accessible health care, education and job training. 

Lisa McClain, a first time politician, will represent Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. She defeated Democrat Kimberly Bizon to replace Rep. Paul Mitchell, who decided not to run for a third term. McClain describes herself as a “conservative outsider” and supports lower taxes and increased border security. 

Mary Miller easily defeated Democratic challenger Erika Weaver to represent Illinois’ 15th Congressional District. She is a local farmer and business manager who focused her campaign on promoting agriculture and bringing manufacturing jobs to her district. Miller, a strong supporter of Trump, will replace Rep. John Shimkus, who will retire at the end of his term. 

Marie Newman will represent Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. Newman defeated eight-term incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski in the primary and easily defeated Republican Mike Fricilone in the general election. She focused her campaign on building an economy that works for middle class working families and making health care accessible for all. 

Deborah K. Ross will represent North Carolina’s newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District. Ross defeated Republican challenger Alain Swain, and will replace Rep. George Holding who said he would retire after the district was redrawn. “I’m running for Congress because we need to put aside partisan bickering and focus on the fight for fairness, equality, and progress,” Ross stated on her campaign website. 

Maria Salazar narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Donna Shalala to represent Florida’s 27th Congressional District. As the daughter of Cuban immigrants, Salazar ran on an anti-socialist agenda. Before running for Congress, she was a successful journalist and used her reporting to speak out against Fidel Castro’s regime. 

Victoria Spartz will represent Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. The race was categorized as a toss-up by Inside Elections, but Spartz was able to defeat Democrat Christina Hale in the historically Republican district. She grew up in socialist-controlled Ukraine and ran on an anti-socialism agenda. 

Michelle Steel, who will represent California’s 48th Congressional District, joins Marilyn Strickland and Young Kim as one of the first three Korean American congresswomen in the country. Steel defeated Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda after his first term. He flipped the district to Democratic control in 2018, but Steel’s victory brings the historically Republican district back to GOP control. She hopes to lead a response to the pandemic, lower taxes and secure the United States borders. 

Marilyn Strickland will be the first Black Congress member from Washington and one of the first three Korean American congresswomen in the country after winning the race to represent Washington’s 10th Congressional District. Strickland defeated fellow Democrat Beth Doglio. On her campaign website, she vows to work with both parties to recover from the COVID crisis, create jobs and protect Social Security and Medicare. 

Beth Van Duyne will represent Texas’ 24th Congressional District after narrowly defeating Democrat Candace Valenzuela. She focused her campaign on stopping what she deemed socialism from Democrats in D.C. and securing the borders. Democrats saw this district as one they could likely flip, but Van Duyne’s victory kept it in Republican control. 

Nikema Williams will be the first woman to represent Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, and will be taking the late civil rights leader John Lewis’ seat. Williams defeated Republican Angela Stanton-King with over 85 percent of the vote. She hopes to create a plan to recover from the COVID crisis, address child care costs, rebuild the economy and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act during her first term. 

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From the Collection

On The Rise

Illustration of three women marching
  • Can Cheri Beasley build a winning coalition in North Carolina?

    Candice Norwood · October 11
  • Los Angeles has never elected a woman mayor. Karen Bass hopes to change that.

    Nadra Nittle · September 8
  • Judge J. Michelle Childs is confirmed to D.C. appeals court

    Candice Norwood · July 20

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