We may not have a woman president but we have some other AMAZING women breaking the glass ceiling in politics.
In the Senate
For the first time in American history the people have elected the highest number of minority women into the Senate. These women are:
- General Kamala Harris, from California, is the first African-Indian American to serve in the Senate. She was the former Attorney General of California and is a strong advocate for criminal justice reform and marriage equality.
- Representative Tammy Duckworth, from Illinois, was born in Thailand and is a double amputee after serving in Iraq. She is a major advocate for veterans, wants to grow the economy by advocating for small business and investment in infrastructure she also wants to cut government waste and fraud.
- Former Attorney General, Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada, is the first Hispanic American to serve in the Senate. She worked as the Attorney General of Nevada and is committed to job creation, equal pay, and protecting seniors with medicare among many other issues.
- Marie Hirono, a Hawaii and a Japanese immigrant, she was previously the only woman in the Senate after winning in 2013. She promotes food and energy sustainability and serves on the Committee on Armed Services, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and am the Ranking Member of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Sea power and Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power.
In the House
There were so many notable firsts, but here are some standout women that were elected into the House of Representatives
- Pramila Jayapal, from Washington, is the first Indian Immigrant voted into the House of Representatives. She has been endorsed by Bernie Sanders and was named a “Champion of Change” by the white house for her work with, the immigrant advocacy program, “OneAmerica”.
- Ilhan Omar, from Minneapolis, is the first Somali-American elected to the House. She immigrated to America in 1995 as a refugee and as a practicing Muslim, she wants to help diversify the laws to be more inclusive of all Americans.
- Representative Stephanie Murphy, from Florida, is the first Vietnamese American elected to the House. She was so moved by the Orlando shootings she decided to run against a 12 time incumbent.
- Elise M. Stefanik, from New York, is the youngest woman in the House of Representatives at just 30 years old. She was elected by her peers to serves as the Freshman Representative to the Policy Committee and is the Chair of Millennial Task Force.
