The Year That Changed Everything For Women In Politics
Lifestyle - News
By GRETCHEN STERBA
In 2018, the #MeToo movement was in full force, and women were making history in Congress. Voters cast ballots in record numbers for the midterm elections, changing the makeup of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Strides were made for women in the former, and more women than ever were elected into the latter.
America elected four women to Congress known as "The Squad": Minnesota's Ilhan Omar, Massachusetts' Ayanna Pressley, New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Michigan's Rashida Tlaib. Omar and Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress, Pressley is the first Black congresswoman from her state, and "AOC" became the youngest woman ever elected.
Many LGBTQ women were also elected into Congress in 2018. Kyrsten Sinema (D) became both the first female senator from Arizona, as well as being openly bisexual. Sharice Davids, a lesbian serving Kansas' 3rd Congressional District, was the first Native woman to be elected into Congress, and she was joined by Laguna Pueblo tribe member Deb Haaland (D) from New Mexico.