More New Records for Women in Congress from Special Election; June 14th Primaries Results for Women Candidates

Correction: An earlier version of this release stated that 12 states currently have zero women in their congressional delegation. The correct number is 10.

Primary elections were held yesterday in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina, as well as a special congressional election in Texas; in addition, another special congressional election was held in Alaska on Saturday. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, is tracking results for women candidates in these contests. Full results are available on the Election Analysis page on the CAWP website. There are still a number of races featuring women candidates that remain too close to call, so this page will update as results are determined. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, is available via CAWP's Election Watch.

Among the most notable results for women:

• Republican women continue to find success in special elections to the U.S. House.
  • Mayra Flores (R) was elected in the special election to fill the vacancy created by U.S. Representative Filemon Vela’s (D) resignation in TX-34. She will serve the remainder of Vela’s term through January 3, 2023 and is also the Republican nominee for the newly-redrawn TX-34 in November’s general election for a full term. Flores is the first Republican Latina elected to Congress from Texas. Upon her swearing in to the U.S. House, new records will be broken for:
    • the number of women in Congress (147)
    • the number of Republican women in Congress (41)
    • the number of women in the U.S. House (123)
    • the number of Republican women in the U.S. House (33)
    • the number of Latinas in Congress (15)
    • the number of Latinas in the U.S. House (14)
  • On the same day that Flores won this special election, another special election winner – Connie Conway (R, CA-22) – was sworn in to the U.S. House, marking new highs for women’s and Republican women’s congressional and U.S. House representation. Conway won her special election on June 7 and will serve until January 3, 2023. She is not a candidate for a full term in November.
  • While results are still being tabulated, former governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin (R) is the current leader in the special primary election held on June 11 for Alaska’s at-large congressional district, from which the top four vote-getters will advance to an August 16 general election (which will use ranked-choice voting). Palin will also compete on the August 16 ballot to advance to the November 2022 election for a full term for the same seat starting in January 2023.
• Women congressional incumbents face competitive contests for re-election in Nevada and South Carolina, while one woman candidate seeks to end North Dakota’s lack of women in its congressional delegation.
  • Incumbent Representative Nancy Mace (R, SC-01) defeated Trump-endorsed Katie Arrington in a competitive Republican primary election. She will be challenged by Annie Andrews (D) in an all-woman general election contest currently rated as “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report.
  • Both Democratic women incumbents from Nevada – Representatives Dina Titus (NV-01) and Susie Lee (NV-03) –  won their primary contests and will advance to general election contests currently rated as Democratic toss ups by Cook Political Report. Lee (D) will be challenged by April Becker (R) in an all-woman general election contest.
  • Incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) won the Democratic nomination for re-election and will compete in a general election contest currently rated as a toss up by Cook Political Report. Cortez Masto is the first and only Latina to serve in the U.S. Senate.
  • Katrina Christiansen (D-ND) won the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report. North Dakota is one of 10 states with no women serving in the U.S. Congress.
• Women were unsuccessful in their bids for governor in Nevada and South Carolina, while incumbent Governor Janet Mills (D-ME) was unopposed in the Democratic primary. She will face former Governor Paul LePage (R-ME) in a general election contest for re-election currently rated as “Lean Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
• In general election contests for other statewide elective executive offices, multiple women have the potential to make history.
  • In Nevada, Sigal Chattah (R) won the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Attorney General Aaron Ford in November. No Republican woman has served as attorney general of Nevada. If elected, she would be the first Middle Eastern/North African woman to serve in statewide elective executive office in Nevada.
  • In South Carolina, Rosemounda Butler (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Secretary of State Mark Hammond (R) in the general election. If elected, Butler would be the first Black woman elected statewide in South Carolina.
  • Women are 3 of 4 (75%) nominees for North Dakota public service commissioner, including both women incumbents – Sheri Haugen-Hoffart (R) and Julie Fedorchak (R) – and Melanie Moniz (D), who – if elected – would be the first Native American woman elected statewide in North Dakota.
• Ellen Spiegel won the Democratic nomination for the open-seat contest for Nevada state controller, a position currently held by Democrat Catherine Byrne.

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.