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Record number of women elected to Congress

There will already be more women than ever serving in the next Congress and even more could join them as more races are called.

There will be a record number of women in the next U.S. Congress when it convenes on Jan. 3, 2021. That's a tabulation from the Center for American Women and Politics.

At least 131 women will serve in 117th Congress, with another 25 races featuring women still too close to call as of early Friday morning.

CAWP says 100 of the women elected so far are Democrats and 31 are Republicans.

In the House, at least 106 women will serve (83 Democrat and 23 Republican), beating the previous record of 102 in 2019. That includes 43 women of color, all but one of whom are Democrat.

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On the Senate side, at least 24 women will be part of the next Congress. It could be 25 if Sen. Kelly Loeffler wins her Jan. 5 runoff election in Georgia.

If Joe Biden wins the presidency, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will leave to be vice president. California governor Gavin Newsom would choose a replacement who would serve until Harris' seat is up for re-election in 2022.

Republicans will have 13 freshman House members who are women, a record for that party, with nine races yet to call.

Fourteen undecided House races are featuring Democratic women. Eight have already been elected to next year's freshman class.

Other records set by the incoming Congress, according to CAWP:

  • 24 Black women will serve in the House, up from the previous record of 22 in 2019. All are Democrats.
  • Missouri sends its first Black woman to Congress (Cori Bush).
  • Washington state sends its first Black woman to Congress (Marilyn Strickland)
  • Two states send their first Republican women to the House (Ashley Hinson - Iowa; Nancy Mace - South Carolina)
  • Alaska could send its first woman to the House, but that race is still being decided. Mississippi, North Dakota and Vermont have also never elected a woman to the House.

Additionally, there will be 11 Latinas, six women who are Asian or Pacific Islander, two Native Americans and one of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

Credit: AP
In this file photo from Jan. 3, 2019, the chamber of the House of Representatives on the first day of the 116th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington.. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

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