Current Political Landscape

In 2018:

• In Congress, women hold 107 out of 535 seats, or 20% of available seats, in the 114th U.S. Congress
  • Women hold 23 out of 100 seats in the Senate, or 23% of available Senate seats.
  • Women hold 84 out of 435 seats in the House of Representatives, or 19.3% of available House seats.
• In statewide elective offices, women hold 73 out of 312 positions, or 23.4% of available seats.
• In state legislatures, women hold 1,879 out of 7,383 positions, or 25.5% of available seats.

"Women in Elective Office 2018" Center for American Women in Politics Rutgers University

• Women have defied odds, with 2018 dubbed the second "Year of the Woman."
• In 2018:
  • 53 women ran for the U.S. Senate, surpassing the previous record of 40 in 2016
  • 476 women ran for the U.S. House, far exceeding the previous record of 298 in 2012
• However, even if women win all the House contests they are favored to win, women would still only hold 24% of House seats in 2019, a slight bump from the 19.4% of House seats women currently hold.

Kelly Ditmar "By the Numbers: Women Congressional Candidates in 2018" Center for American Women and Politics September 12th, 2018