Women in Congress: Updated Data and Records

State Senator Jennifer McClellan is expected to win tomorrow’s special election in Virginia’s 4th congressional district. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, provides updated data on women’s representation in the 118th Congress in the event of her win and upon her swearing-in:

• 150 (107D, 42R, 1Ind) women will serve in the U.S. Congress, holding 28% of seats. This is a new record and surpasses by one the previous record, set at the swearing-in of the 118th Congress.
• 125 (92D, 33R) women will serve in the U.S. House, holding 28.7% of seats. This is likewise a new record and surpasses by one the previous record, set at the swearing in of the 118th Congress.
• 107 Democratic women will serve in Congress, matching the record set in 2022. Women will hold 41% of Democratic seats in Congress.
• 92 Democratic women will serve in the House. This is a new record and surpasses by one the previous record, which was set in 2022. Women will hold 43.2% of Democratic seats in the House.
• 28 Black women will serve in Congress. This is a new record and surpasses by one the previous record, set at the swearing-in of the 118th Congress.
• 28 Black women will serve in the House. This is a new record and surpasses by one the previous record, set at the swearing-in of the 118th Congress.

In addition, Jennifer McClellan would be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

For the most up-to-date information on women serving in Congress, see CAWP’s fact sheet, Women in the U.S. Congress 2023; this page will update when the new representative for this district is sworn in. See part one of our report on the 2022 elections, Women in Election 2022: Marking Midterm Progress, for additional data and analysis about women serving in the 118th Congress.