THE WOMEN JUST KEEP RISING

The final count of votes in the 2018 Midterm Election leads to a historic moment in US politics as a record 117 women are elected into office, with 100 Democrats and 17 Republicans voted into history. Among the many firsts to celebrate, here are a few of the highlights that will change the face and function of American leadership and politics.

• Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland, both Democrats, became the first Native American women elected to Congress. Deb Haaland, Democrat, and former chairwoman of New Mexico’s Democratic Party, won New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District. Sharice Davids, Democrat, won Kansas’s 3rd Congressional District.
• Jahana Hayes, Democrat, who also won the National Teacher of the Year in 2016, became Connecticut’s first black woman elected to Congress.
• Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat, became the first female senator and the first openly bisexual senator.
• Kristi Noem, Republican, become South Dakota’s first female Governor.
• Marsha Blackburn, Republican, became Tennessee’s first female Senator.
• Ilhan Omar, Democrat, who came to the United States as a refugee, became the first Somali-American Muslim person in Congress.
• Rashida Tlaib, Democrat, became one of the first Muslim women in Congress and the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress. 
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old activist from the Bronx, became the youngest woman elected to Congress.
• Ayanna Pressley, Democrat, became the first black Congresswoman from Massachusetts.
• Cindy Axne of the 3^rd Congressional District and Abby Finkenauer of the 1^st Congressional District, both Democrats, became the first women elected to the House in Iowa.
• Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garci, both Democrats, became the first Latina women in the history of Texas to be elected to Congress. Escobar won the 16th Congressional District and Garcia won the 29th Congressional District.

Year of the Woman, indeed. Women are changing the world, together. And we are only just getting started.

All peace to each one of you. Dora