- From Congress.gov: Members of the U.S. Congress.
- From Congress.gov: Browse legislative information.
- From The Congressional Budgetary Office: Legislation Enacted in the First Session of the 117th Congress That Affects Mandatory Spending or Revenues.
- From Pew Research Center: A record number of women are serving in the 117th Congress.
Women have been in Congress for more than a century. The first, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was elected to the House in 1916, two years after her state gave women the vote. But it’s only been in the past few decades that women have served in more substantial numbers. About two-thirds of the women ever elected to the House (232 of 352, including the newest members of the 117th Congress) have been elected in 1992 or later.The pattern is similar in the Senate: 42 of the 58 women who have ever served in the Senate – including Lummis, the newest female senator – took office in 1992 or later.
- From Forbes: The Firsts: Here’s Who Is Making History In The 117th Congress.
The 118 women in the incoming House of Representatives class comprise 27% of the chamber’s voting members. That is up from 23.2% of the 116th Congress. 89 incoming Representatives are Democrats and 29 are Republicans, the largest number of new Republican women elected to Congress. A record number of people of color were also elected to Congress, with 121 Representatives of color in the 117th Congress, up from 113 Representatives of color from the 116th. Women of color have reached a record level of representation. As reported by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University (CAWP), in 2018 there were 43 women of color Representatives. This year there are 48: 25 Black (up from 22), 14 Latinx (up from 12), seven Asian American or Pacific Islander (up from six), two Native American, and one Middle Eastern or North African. New Mexico becomes the first state to elect all women of color to the House. In addition, nine members of the House openly identify as LGBTQ, up from eight last year. The numbers are calculated from self-identification, including people who identify as multiracial, and do not include non-voting delegates in the House.
- Open Secrets: Gen Z candidates raise millions for the generation’s first federal campaigns.
Generation Z candidates are running for federal office for the first time in the 2022 midterms, and these young politicians have already raised millions of dollars ahead of their upcoming primaries.
OpenSecrets identified at least four current Gen Z candidates – two Democrats and two Republicans – vying for congressional seats in the 2022 election cycle: Maxwell Alejandro Frost in the Democratic primary for Florida’s 10th Congressional District, Karoline Leavitt and state Rep. Tim Baxter (R) in the Republican primary for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District and Raymond Reed in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District.
Another Republican Gen Z candidate, Matt Foldi, ran in Maryland’s July 19 primary for the state’s 6th Congressional District but lost to state delegate Neil Parrott after only raising around $222,600. Reuven Hendler, a Democratic Gen Z candidate who ran on a “Medicare for All” platform in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, also lost his primary to incumbent Rep. Andy Kim (D–N.J.) by 86%. Hendler did not report raising any money. Skylar Williams, another Gen Z candidate, also lost his Democratic primary bid in Montana’s 2nd Congressional District. Williams raised $4,661 but managed to win over 18% of the vote in that district.
