Rep. Debra Haaland (D-MN) defeated Janice Arnold-Jones (R) for the seat left vacant by Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s bid for governor. Rep.-elect Haaland previously ran for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico and served as Native American Caucus Chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party. She is the first Native American woman to chair a state party and is among the first Native American women elected to Congress.
Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes (D-CT) defeated Manny Santos (R) for the seat left open by the retirement of Rep. Elizabeth Esty. Rep.-elect Hayes taught high school social studies and was recognized as National Teacher of the Year in 2016. She is the first African American Democrat to represent Connecticut in Congress, and among the first African American women to represent New England in Congress.
Rep.-elect Kendra Horn (D-OK) defeated incumbent Rep. Steve Russell (R). The former congressional staffer and aerospace executive ran two nonprofit organizations focused on developing women’s leadership skills and encouraging them to run for public office.
Rep.-elect Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) defeated Greg McCauley (R) for the seat once held by Rep. Ryan Costello. Rep.-elect Houlahan is a third-generation veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force. She is a former chemistry teacher and Teach for America alumnus. She previously served as Chief Operations Officer of AND1 Basketball, an apparel and footwear company.
Rep.-elect Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) defeated Lea Marquez Peterson (R) for the seat left vacant by Rep. Martha McSally’s Senate bid. She first was elected to the House of Representatives in 2008, and again in 2012 and 2014, after serving as Deputy County Attorney for Coconino County and as Sedona City Attorney. Rep.-elect Kirkpatrick previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives, where she was the Ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee.
Rep.-elect Susie Lee (D-NV) defeated Danny Tarkanian (R) for the seat left open by Rep. Jacky Rosen’s Senate bid. She is the Founding Director of After-School All-Stars and former President of Communities in Schools Nevada. She also founded a women’s investment group that supported several nonprofits in Nevada and served as Founding Director of a homeless crisis intervention center.
Rep.-elect Elaine Luria (D-VA) defeated incumbent Rep. Scott Taylor (R). She is a former Naval Surface Warfare Officer who was deployed in the Middle East and Western Pacific. She was one of the first women to attend the Naval Nuclear Power School. Following her Naval service, she became a small business owner.
Rep.-elect Lucia “Lucy” McBath (D-GA) defeated incumbent Rep. Karen Handel (R). The former flight attendant became an activist following the death of her son as a result of gun violence. She joined Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as one of the “Mothers of the Movement.”
Rep.-elect Carol Miller (R-WV) defeated Richard Ojeda (D) for the seat left open by Rep. Evan Jenkins’ retirement. She is a former small business owner and farmer who served in the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2013.
Rep.-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL) defeated incumbent Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R). Rep.-elect Mucarsel-Powell immigrated to the United States from Ecuador when she was small child. She worked in several nonprofit organizations before joining Florida International University, first as a Director of Development and later as Associate Vice President of Advancement for the Herbert Wertham College of Medicine.
Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) defeated incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary. A former staffer for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), she also previously served as an organizer for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2016. She is a former community organizer and educational director, and is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Rep.-elect Ilhan Omar (D-MN) defeated several candidates in the Democratic primary to fill the seat left open by Rep. Keith Ellison’s retirement. She and her family fled Somalia when she was eight years old and later became a legislative aide to a member of the Minneapolis City Council. In 2017, she was elected to the Minnesota State House, becoming the first Somali-American ever elected to a state legislature. She is among the first Muslim women elected to Congress.
Rep.-elect Mimi Porter (D-CA) defeated Rep. Mimi Walters, who has represented Orange County for two terms, in her bid for re-election. Katie Porter is a law professor from the University of California, Irvine. (Reported by the Associated Press/TamMartindes Gray updated November 16)
Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) defeated incumbent Rep. Michael Capuano in the September Democratic primary; she ran unopposed in the general election. She was elected to the Boston City Council in 2009, becoming the first African American woman to serve on the Council. Rep.-elect Pressley previously worked for former Rep. Joe Kennedy, II (D-MA), and was a longtime staffer to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA). She is among the first African American women to represent New England in Congress.
Rep.-elect Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) defeated Pearl Kim (R) for the seat held by retiring Rep. Glenn Thompson. Rep.-elect Scanlon is a civil rights attorney who previously served on the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board, where she served as President and Vice President. She is the former chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Commission on Children at Risk and the Legal Rights of Children Committee.
Rep.-elect Kim Schrier (D-WA) defeated Dino Rossi (R) for the seat once held by Rep. Dave Reichert (R). Being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager inspired her to become a pediatrician. She later became an advocate to protect the Affordable Care Act. Rep.-elect Schrier will be the only female doctor serving in Congress.
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