United States of America

Historic wins for women in the midterm elections drove home the interpretation that 2018 was, indeed, the “Year of the Woman.” But it remains unknown whether women’s political capital will continue to rise.

The 101 women and counting who won House races face numerous obstacles to standing out in a divided Congress where seniority often plays more of a role in determining political power than success at the ballot box or legislative ingenuity.

Female candidates for Congress made history on Tuesday night, with more than 100 women sweeping into office on the strength of a Democratic House takeover powered in large part by college-educated female voters.

Progressive Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her race for a U.S. House seat in New York’s 14th District on Tuesday, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.

The 29-year-old political newcomer made headlines nationwide in June when she unexpectedly defeated 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary.

With women making up only 20 percent of Congress, there are many types of women — especially women of color — who have never been represented on Capitol Hill. The record-breaking wave of female candidates in 2018 comes with a list of firsts among those women. Here's a list of some of those firsts, which we will keep updating as results come in.

Even before the votes are in, the numbers prove it: 2018 is the Year of the Woman.

If Democrats retake the House, the Senate, or both, it’ll be because women launched the most effective, sustained resistance in generations, thousands more women looked into running for office than ever before — and then many of them did it and did it so well, they outperformed their male peers nationwide.

By Susan Chira

Conventional wisdom on women and politics goes like this: