One day after the most diverse congress in U.S. history was officially sworn into office, newly elect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gathered all the women representing the Democratic party in the House of Representatives for a photo in front of the Capitol building.
This historic group of women includes newcomers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a democratic socialist who won a major upset against Rep. Joe Crowley for the Democratic party nomination in New York’s 14th district. Other history makers include Deb Haaland of New Mexico and Sharice Davids of Kansas, the first two Native American women to serve in the house, as well as Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the first two Muslim women to do the same.
Overall, 2018 was a banner year for women in office. A ‘pink wave‘ during the midterm elections ushered in a record number of women to seats in the House chamber. A total of 102 women were elected to the House, 89 of them Democrats and 13 of them Republicans, a 12.7% increase from the 115th congress. The Democrats were responsible for the majority of new women in congress. Of the 36 women newly elected to the House, 35 of them were Democrats. Rep. Carol Miller of West Virginia was the only Republican woman in the freshman class of the House.
These are all the Democratic women in the U.S. House for the 116th Congress, (newly elect representatives in bold)
- Alma Adams – NC
- Cindy Axne – IA
- Nannette Barragan – CA
- Karen Bass – CA
- Joyce Beatty – OH
- Lisa Blunt Rochester – DE
- Suzanne Bonamici – OR
- Julia Brownley – CA
- Cheri Bustos – IL
- Kathy Castor – FL
- Judy Chu – CA
- Katherine Clark – MA
- Yvette Clarke – NY
- Angela Craig – MN
- Susan Davis – CA
- Sharice Davids – KS
- Madeleine Dean – PA
- Diana DeGette – CO
- Rosa DeLauro – CT
- Suzan DelBene – WA
- Val Demings – FL
- Debbie Dingell – MI
- Veronica Escobar – TX
- Anna Eshoo – CA
- Abby Finkenauer – IA
- Elizabeth Pannill Fletcher – TX
- Lois Frankel – FL
- Marcia Fudge – OH
- Tulsi Gabbard – HI
- Sylvia Garcia – TX
- Debra Haaland – NM
- Jahana Hayes – CT
- Katherine Hill – CA
- Kendra Horn – OK
- Chrissy Houlahan – PA
- Sheila Jackson Lee – TX
- Pramila Jayapal – WA
- Eddie Bernice Johnson – TX
- Marcy Kaptur – OH
- Robin L. Kelly – IL
- Ann Kirkpartrick – AZ
- Ann McLane Kuster – NH
- Brenda Lawrence – MI
- Barbara Lee – CA
- Susie Lee – NV
- Zoe Lofgren – CA
- Nita Lowey – NY
- Elaine Luria – VA
- Carolyn Maloney – NY
- Doris Matsui – CA
- Lucy McBath – GA
- Betty McCollum – MN
- Grace Meng – NY
- Gwen Moore – WI
- Debbie Mucarsel-Powell – FL
- Stephanie Murphy – FL
- Grace Napolitano – CA
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – NY
- Ilhan Omar – MN
- Nancy Pelosi – CA
- Chellie Pingree – ME
- Katherine Porter – CA
- Ayanna Pressley – MA
- Kathleen Rice – NY
- Lucille Roybal-Allard – CA
- Linda Sanchez – CA
- Mary Gay Scanlon – PA
- Jan Schakowsky – IL
- Kim Schrier – WA
- Terri Sewell – AL
- Donna Shalala – FL
- Mikie Sherrill – NJ
- Elissa Slotkin – MI
- Abigail Spanberger – VA
- Jackie Speier – CA
- Haley Stevens – MI
- Dina Titus – NV
- Rashida Tlaib – MI
- Norma Torres – CA
- Xochitl Torres Small – NM
- Lori Trahan – MA
- Lauren Underwood – IL
- Nydia Velazquez – NY
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz – FL
- Maxine Waters – CA
- Bonnie Watson Coleman – NJ
- Jennifer Wexton – VA
- Susan Wild – PA
- Frederica Wilson – FL
