Last night was a victory for women candidates across the country. Such a victory, in fact, that here in “The War Room” we had to pull out our “binder full of women” to keep track of the ballots full of women!
Here’s what we’re looking at:
- In Massachusetts, Democrat Elizabeth Warren defeated Scott Brown in an upset victory.
- In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin kept former Senator Herb Kohl’s seat in Democratic hands. Her win makes her the first openly gay woman to run for and serve as a U.S. senator.
- In North Dakota, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp overcame discouraging polls to beat Rick Berg.
- In Hawaii, Democrat Mazie Hirono won a promotion from the House of Representatives to the Senate, defeating former Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle.
- Crossing the aisle, in Nebraska, Republican Deb Fischer defeated former Senator Bob Kerrey, taking Democrat Ben Nelson’s seat.
- Voters re-elected Senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
This brings the total number of women in the Senate to 20. In other news about women in politics, California, Washington and New Hampshire have all-women delegations, and each returned a former Democratic women representative to Congress: Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.).
Here’s a note from Jennifer Granholm about this incredible win for women politicians:
Last night was an amazing night for Democratic women — women who will stand up for women and families and keep our country moving forward.
We will have a record number of women serving in the House and Senate who can help make our voices heard. When it came to the choice between binders full of women and ballots full of women, the women on the ballots prevailed.
People chose to reject the extreme Republican agenda of candidates like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, Joe Walsh and Allen West. When it comes to women in politics, there’s no doubt that we still need to get more women off the sidelines, but last night was a fantastic win not just for women, but for the future of our country.
Tonight, Christine Pelosi, chair of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus, and Keli Goff, political corespondent for The Root, join Granholm to talk about the role of women in politics and this extraordinary step forward.
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