Women in the United States Senate

Rebecca Latimer Felton

There have been 46 women in the United States Senate since the establishment of that body in 1789.^[1] The first woman senator, Rebecca Felton, served in 1922 (for a single day), but the first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Caraway in 1932. Fourteen of the women who have served were appointed; seven of those were appointed to succeed their deceased husbands. Currently, the 114th Congress has 20 female senators out of 100, the same number as in the 113th Congress.^[2] The 115th Congress will have 21 female senators out of 100.

History

The five women elected to the Senate in 1992, the "Year of the Woman"

By the 111th Congress (2009–11), the number of women senators had increased to 17, including four Republicans and 13 Democrats.

Throughout most of the Senate's history, that legislative chamber has been almost entirely male. Until 1920, few women ran for the Senate. Until the 1990s, very few were elected. This paucity of women was due to many factors, including the lack of women's suffrage in many states until ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, women's limited access to higher education until the mid-1900s, public perceptions of gender roles, and barriers to women's advancement such as sex discrimination, which still plays a factor in their limited numbers today.

The first woman in the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton who served for only one day in 1922. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman to win election to the Senate, in 1932. No women served from 1922 to 1931, 1945 to 1947, and 1973 to 1978. Since 1978, there has always been at least one woman in the Senate.

There were still few women in the Senate near the end of the 20th century, long after women began to make up a significant portion of the membership of the House. In fact, the first time there were three women in the Senate simultaneously was in 1992, when Jocelyn Burdick of North Dakota joined Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. The number increased to four in November, when Dianne Feinstein won a special election in California.

This trend began to change in the wake of the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination hearings, and the subsequent election of the 103rd Congress in 1992, which was dubbed the "Year of the Woman."^[3] In addition to Mikulski, who was reelected that year, four women were elected to the Senate, all Democrats. They were Patty Murray of Washington, Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, and Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both of California. In June 1993, Kay Bailey Hutchison won a special election in Texas, and joined Kassebaum as a fellow female Republican senator. These additions significantly diminished the popular perception of the Senate as an exclusive "boys' club."

In 2012, there was a second "Year of the Woman" with the election of five women and the re-election of six women. This beat the record of four new female senators from 1992 and set the record of five new women and eleven female senators in one Senate class. The five new women were Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Republican Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Democrat Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Democrat Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, and Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Oddly enough, the driving force behind the addition of four of the senators elected was one of the original senators from 1992, Patty Murray, who led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which recruited Baldwin, Heitkamp, Hirono, and Warren, along with several other candidates who did not win.

Since then, many more women in both the Democratic and Republican parties have campaigned for the Senate, and several have been elected. Twenty are currently serving in the 114th Congress (2015–16).

In 2016, a record 15 women were their party's nominee for Senate, with 12 being truly competitive. Louisiana also had a female senatorial candidate, but she did not make the run-off.

Cumulatively, 34 female senators have been Democrats, while 17 have been Republicans. Of the 21 female senators serving in the 115th Congress starting January 2017, 16 are Democrats and 5 are Republicans.

Women senators for the 114th Congress

In January 2013, the number of serving women senators increased to 20: 14 Democrats and 6 Republicans. Republican Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) and Olympia Snowe (Maine) did not seek re-election in 2012, while five new women senators were elected: Republican Deb Fischer (Nebraska) and Democrats Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) and Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts).^[4] In the 2014 election the total number of women in the Senate remained at 20, but the partisan makeup changed, as Democratic Senators Kay Hagan (North Carolina) and Mary Landrieu (Louisiana) were defeated for re-election while Republicans Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia) and Joni Ernst (Iowa) were newly elected.

For three states, California, Washington, and New Hampshire, both senators are women. California's two senators (Boxer and Feinstein) were the first two women to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the same election (in 1992) from the same state. Ten female senators had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives - a distinction long held by only Margaret Chase Smith - Sens. Mikulski, Boxer, Snowe, Lincoln, Stabenow, Cantwell, Gillibrand, Baldwin, Hirono and Moore Capito.

Women senators for the 115th Congress

In January 2017, the number of serving women senators is expected to increase to 21: 16 Democrats and 5 Republicans. Democratic Senators Barbara Mikulski and Barbara Boxer did not seek re-election in 2016, while four new Democratic senators were elected: Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Kamala Harris (California), and Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire). Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire) lost to Maggie Hassan.

Of the two seats that changed hands from Republican to Democrat both were won by women, Duckworth and Hassan.

For three states, California, Washington, and New Hampshire, both senators are women. Eleven female senators had previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives - a distinction long held by only Margaret Chase Smith - Sens. Mikulski, Boxer, Snowe, Lincoln, Stabenow, Cantwell, Gillibrand, Baldwin, Hirono, Moore Capito, and Duckworth.

Election, selection and family

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Before 2001, numerically speaking, the most common way for a woman to ascend to the U.S. Senate was to have been appointed there following the death or resignation of a husband or father who previously held the seat. An example is Muriel Humphrey (D-MN), the widow of former senator and Vice President Hubert Humphrey; she was appointed to fill his seat until a special election was held (in which she did not run). However, with the election of three women in 2000, the balance shifted: More women have now entered service as a senator by winning their seats outright than by being appointed to the body.

Recent examples of selection include Jean Carnahan and Lisa Murkowski. In 2000, Jean Carnahan (D-MO) was appointed to fill the Senate seat won by her recently deceased husband, Mel Carnahan. Carnahan—even though dead—defeated the incumbent senator, John Ashcroft. Carnahan's widow was named to fill his seat by Missouri Governor Roger Wilson until a special election was held. However, she lost the subsequent 2002 election to fill out the rest of the six-year term. In 2002, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was appointed by her father Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski, who had resigned from the Senate to become governor, to serve the remaining two years of his term. Lisa Murkowski defeated former governor Tony Knowles in her reelection bid in 2004.

Two recent members of the Senate brought with them a combination of name recognition resulting from the political careers of their famous husbands and their own substantial experience in public affairs. The first, former Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), is married to former Senate Majority Leader and 1996 Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole and served as Secretary of Transportation under President Ronald Reagan and Secretary of Labor under President George H. W. Bush; she later ran a losing bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. The other, former Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), wife of former President Bill Clinton, was First Lady of the United States and First Lady of Arkansas before taking her seat in 2000. She too ran an unsuccessful campaign for her party's presidential nomination in 2008; she resigned in 2009 to become the secretary of state for the eventual victor of that election, Barack Obama. In 2016, she ran a successful campaign for her party's presidential nomination, and, although gaining a plurality in the popular vote, failed to obtain a majority in the electoral college, losing to Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Another famous name is Nancy Landon Kassebaum, the daughter of former Kansas governor and one-time presidential candidate Alf Landon. After retiring from the Senate, she married former Senator Howard Baker (R-TN). Kassebaum has the distinction of being the first female elected senator who did not succeed her husband in Congress (Margaret Chase Smith was only elected to the Senate after succeeding her husband to his House seat). At the time of her retirement in 1997, Kassebaum was the second longest serving female senator, after Smith (though now that five other women senators have since served longer tenures, she is now seventh).

Firsts and onlies

Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME) holds several distinctions for women in the U.S. Congress: She served in the Senate for 24 years, longer than any other female senator until Barbara Mikulski eclipsed her record in 2011, Dianne Feinstein eclipsed it in 2016 and Patty Murray passed it in 2017; she was the first woman ever elected to both the U.S. House and Senate (she was first elected to the House in 1940 after the unexpected death of her husband, who himself was a member of the House of Representatives, and she served there for eight years before winning the Senate seat by a landslide); she was the first woman to hold a Senate Leadership position; and she also won her 1960 race for Senate in the nation's first ever race pitting two women against each other for a Senate seat.

Joni Ernst (R-IA) is the first female veteran to serve in the Senate. Two years later Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Ernst as a fellow veteran and also as the first Double Amputee in the Senate.

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire hold the distinction of being the first and second women elected both governor and senator of a state, both served as Governor of New Hampshire and served together starting in 2017.

Houses served

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) arrived in the Senate in 1995, having previously served in the House of Representatives and both houses of the Maine state legislature. She and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan are the only women to have served in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the federal legislature.

Defeated incumbents

In 1992, Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL) became the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator when she toppled Senator Alan Dixon in the Democratic primary. Later that year, Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator from a different party when she defeated appointed Senator John Seymour in a special election. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) duplicated Feinstein's feat in 1993, toppling appointed Senator Bob Krueger in a special election. In 2000, Stabenow (D-MI) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) became the first women to defeat incumbent elected senators in a general election, unseating Senators Spencer Abraham and Slade Gorton respectively. In 2008, Kay Hagan became the first woman to unseat a female incumbent, Elizabeth Dole. In 2016, Maggie Hassan repeated Hagan's feat and unseated Kelly Ayotte. In 2016, Kamala Harris was the first woman to defeat another women from the same party, Rep.Loretta Sanchez, in a General Election.

Senators from the same state

The first time two female senators from the same state served concurrently were Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer (both D-CA), both elected in 1992, with Feinstein taking office that same year (as the result of a special election) and Boxer taking office in 1993 until 2016 when Boxer retired and Feinstein was joined by Kamala Harris. For a brief time, there were two female senators from Kansas serving concurrently, when Nancy Kassebaum and Sheila Frahm briefly served together after Frahm's appointment in 1996; Frahm did not win election to the seat and left office later the same year. Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins served concurrently from 1997, when Collins entered office, to 2013, when Snowe retired. In Washington Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have also served concurrently since 2001, when Cantwell entered office. Upon the opening of the 112th Congress, New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen was joined by newly elected Republican Kelly Ayotte, making the first female tandem senators that do not belong to the same party. In 2016 Maggie Hassan defeated Kelly Ayotte to make the sixth pair of female senators with Jeanne Shaheen in two pairs.

List of states represented by women

This is a map of states that have been represented by women in the United States Senate.

  Democrat(s)

  Republican(s)

  Both a Democrat and a Republican

Eight Democratic women senators appear at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver. It has become a tradition at Democratic conventions for incumbent women senators to appear on opening night.

Twenty-seven states have been represented by female senators. In 2009, North Carolina became the first state to have been represented by female senators of both parties, and the first to have a female senator succeeded by a female senator from the other party. In 2011, New Hampshire became the second state to be represented by female senators from both parties, and the first to have female senators of both parties serving concurrently.

List of female senators

Image	Name	State	From	To	Length of service (days)	Entered the Senate	Reason for leaving	Party
	Felton, Rebecca LatimerRebecca Latimer Felton[5]	Georgia	000000001922-11-21-0000November 21, 1922	000000001922-11-22-0000November 22, 1922	7000100000000000000♠1	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Caraway, HattieHattie Caraway	Arkansas	000000001931-12-09-0000December 9, 1931	000000001945-01-03-0000January 3, 1945	7003477400000000000♠4,774	Appointment	Lost renomination	Democratic
	McConnell Long, RoseRose McConnell Long	Louisiana	000000001936-01-31-0000January 31, 1936	000000001937-01-02-0000January 2, 1937	7002337000000000000♠337	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Bibb Graves, DixieDixie Bibb Graves	Alabama	000000001937-08-20-0000August 20, 1937	000000001938-01-10-0000January 10, 1938	7002143000000000000♠143	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Pyle, GladysGladys Pyle	South Dakota	000000001938-11-09-0000November 9, 1938	000000001939-01-03-0000January 3, 1939	7001550000000000000♠55	Special election	Retired	Republican
	Bushfield, Vera C.Vera C. Bushfield	South Dakota	000000001948-10-06-0000October 6, 1948	000000001948-12-26-0000December 26, 1948	7001810000000000000♠81	Appointment	Appointment ended	Republican
	Chase Smith, MargaretMargaret Chase Smith	Maine	000000001949-01-03-0000January 3, 1949	000000001973-01-03-0000January 3, 1973	7003876600000000000♠8,766	Election	Lost re-election	Republican
	Bowring, Eva KellyEva Kelly Bowring	Nebraska	000000001954-04-16-0000April 16, 1954	000000001954-11-07-0000November 7, 1954	7002205000000000000♠205	Appointment	Appointment ended	Republican
	Hampel Abel, HazelHazel Hampel Abel	Nebraska	000000001954-11-08-0000November 8, 1954	000000001954-12-31-0000December 31, 1954	7001530000000000000♠53	Special election	Retired, and resigned early[n 1]	Republican
	Brown Neuberger, MaurineMaurine Brown Neuberger	Oregon	000000001960-11-09-0000November 9, 1960	000000001967-01-03-0000January 3, 1967	7003224600000000000♠2,246	Special election	Retired	Democratic
	Edwards, ElaineElaine Edwards	Louisiana	000000001972-08-01-0000August 1, 1972	000000001972-11-13-0000November 13, 1972	7002104000000000000♠104	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Humphrey, MurielMuriel Humphrey	Minnesota	000000001978-01-25-0000January 25, 1978	000000001978-11-07-0000November 7, 1978	7002286000000000000♠286	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Pittman Allen, MaryonMaryon Pittman Allen	Alabama	000000001978-06-08-0000June 8, 1978	000000001978-11-07-0000November 7, 1978	7002152000000000000♠152	Appointment	Lost nomination to finish term	Democratic
	Landon Kassebaum, NancyNancy Landon Kassebaum	Kansas	000000001978-12-23-0000December 23, 1978	000000001997-01-03-0000January 3, 1997	7003658600000000000♠6,586	Election	Retired	Republican
	Hawkins, PaulaPaula Hawkins	Florida	000000001981-01-01-0000January 1, 1981	000000001987-01-03-0000January 3, 1987	7003219300000000000♠2,193	Election	Lost re-election	Republican
	Mikulski, BarbaraBarbara Mikulski	Maryland	000000001987-01-03-0000January 3, 1987	Present	7004109290000000000♠10,929	Election	Retired	Democratic
	Burdick, JocelynJocelyn Burdick	North Dakota	000000001992-09-16-0000September 16, 1992	000000001992-12-14-0000December 14, 1992	7001890000000000000♠89	Appointment	Appointment ended	Democratic
	Feinstein, DianneDianne Feinstein	California	000000001992-11-10-0000November 10, 1992	Present	7003879100000000000♠8,791	Special election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Boxer, BarbaraBarbara Boxer	California	000000001993-01-03-0000January 3, 1993	Present	7003873700000000000♠8,737	Election	Retired	Democratic
	Murray, PattyPatty Murray	Washington	000000001993-01-03-0000January 3, 1993	Present	7003873700000000000♠8,737	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Moseley Braun, CarolCarol Moseley Braun	Illinois	000000001993-01-03-0000January 3, 1993	000000001999-01-03-0000January 3, 1999	7003219100000000000♠2,191	Election	Lost re-election	Democratic
	Bailey Hutchison, KayKay Bailey Hutchison	Texas	000000001993-06-14-0000June 14, 1993	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	7003714300000000000♠7,143	Special election	Retired	Republican
	Snowe, OlympiaOlympia Snowe	Maine	000000001995-01-03-0000January 3, 1995	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	7003657500000000000♠6,575	Election	Retired	Republican
	Frahm, SheilaSheila Frahm	Kansas	000000001996-06-11-0000June 11, 1996	000000001996-11-06-0000November 6, 1996	7002148000000000000♠148	Appointment	Lost nomination to finish term	Republican
	Collins, SusanSusan Collins	Maine	000000001997-01-03-0000January 3, 1997	Present	7003727600000000000♠7,276	Election	Incumbent	Republican
	Landrieu, MaryMary Landrieu	Louisiana	000000001997-01-03-0000January 3, 1997	January 3, 2015	7003657500000000000♠6,575	Election	Lost re-election	Democratic
	Lincoln, BlancheBlanche Lincoln	Arkansas	000000001999-01-03-0000January 3, 1999	000000002011-01-03-0000January 3, 2011	7003438300000000000♠4,383	Election	Lost re-election	Democratic
	Cantwell, MariaMaria Cantwell	Washington	000000002001-01-03-0000January 3, 2001	Present	7003581500000000000♠5,815	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Carnahan, JeanJean Carnahan	Missouri	000000002001-01-03-0000January 3, 2001	000000002002-11-25-0000November 25, 2002	7002691000000000000♠691	Appointment	Lost election to finish term	Democratic
	Clinton, HillaryHillary Clinton	New York	000000002001-01-03-0000January 3, 2001	000000002009-01-21-0000January 21, 2009	7003294000000000000♠2,940	Election	Resigned to become United States Secretary of State	Democratic
	Stabenow, DebbieDebbie Stabenow	Michigan	000000002001-01-03-0000January 3, 2001	Present	7003581500000000000♠5,815	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Murkowski, LisaLisa Murkowski	Alaska	000000002002-12-20-0000December 20, 2002	Present	7003509900000000000♠5,099	Appointment	Incumbent	Republican
	Dole, ElizabethElizabeth Dole	North Carolina	000000002003-01-03-0000January 3, 2003	000000002009-01-03-0000January 3, 2009	7003219200000000000♠2,192	Election	Lost re-election	Republican
	Klobuchar, AmyAmy Klobuchar	Minnesota	000000002007-01-03-0000January 3, 2007	Present	7003362400000000000♠3,624	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	McCaskill, ClaireClaire McCaskill	Missouri	000000002007-01-03-0000January 3, 2007	Present	7003362400000000000♠3,624	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Shaheen, JeanneJeanne Shaheen	New Hampshire	000000002009-01-03-0000January 3, 2009	Present	7003289300000000000♠2,893	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Gillibrand, KirstenKirsten Gillibrand	New York	000000002009-01-26-0000January 26, 2009	Present	7003287000000000000♠2,870	Appointment	Incumbent	Democratic
	Hagan, KayKay Hagan	North Carolina	000000002009-01-03-0000January 3, 2009	January 3, 2015	7003219100000000000♠2,191	Election	Lost re-election	Democratic
	Ayotte, KellyKelly Ayotte	New Hampshire	000000002011-01-03-0000January 3, 2011	January 3, 2017	7003216300000000000♠2,163	Election	Incumbent Lost re-election	Republican
	Baldwin, TammyTammy Baldwin	Wisconsin	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	Present	7003143200000000000♠1,432	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Fischer, DebDeb Fischer	Nebraska	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	Present	7003143200000000000♠1,432	Election	Incumbent	Republican
	Heitkamp, HeidiHeidi Heitkamp	North Dakota	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	Present	7003143200000000000♠1,432	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Hirono, MazieMazie Hirono	Hawaii	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	Present	7003143200000000000♠1,432	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Warren, ElizabethElizabeth Warren	Massachusetts	000000002013-01-03-0000January 3, 2013	Present	7003143200000000000♠1,432	Election	Incumbent	Democratic
	Moore Capito, ShelleyShelley Moore Capito	West Virginia	000000002015-01-03-0000January 3, 2015	Present	7002702000000000000♠702	Election	Incumbent	Republican
	Ernst, JoniJoni Ernst	Iowa	000000002015-01-03-0000January 3, 2015	Present	7002702000000000000♠702	Election	Incumbent	Republican
	Cortez Masto, CatherineCatherine Cortez Masto	Nevada	000000002017-01-03-0000January 3, 2017	—	—	Election	Elect	Democratic
	Duckworth, TammyTammy Duckworth	Illinois	000000002017-01-03-0000January 3, 2017	—	—	Election	Elect	Democratic
	Harris, KamalaKamala Harris	California	000000002017-01-03-0000January 3, 2017	—	—	Election	Elect	Democratic
	Hassan, MaggieMaggie Hassan	New Hampshire	000000002017-01-03-0000January 3, 2017	—	—	Election	Elect	Democratic

Graphs

Histograph

Time series

See also

• Women in the United States House of Representatives
• Widow's succession

Notes

References

External links

• U.S. Senate History: Women in the Senate
• "Women in the U.S. Senate 1922-2010" Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
• Steinhauer, Jennifer (March 21, 2013). "Once Few, Women Hold More Power in Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2013.