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Anonymous
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Congressional Gender Gap Grows
Although Mitt Romney might consider these "gifts," the strong allegiance of women to the Democratic Party has earned women positions of power in Congress. The new Senate will have 20 female senators, an all-time high. Of them, 80% are Democrats and 20% are Republicans. In the House, the 74% of the congresswomen are Democrats (58 ) and only 26% are Republicans (20). The Democrats also take their women more seriously: the House minority leader is Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the #4 leadership position in the Senate is occupied by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). The only Republican woman in a leadership position is Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who is #4 in the House leadership.
Also of note is that in the state legislatures, there will be 500 more Democratic women than Republican women starting in January. State legislatures are important not only because they pass state laws, but because candidates for Congress and statewide offices often come from the state legislatures. This imbalance at the state level suggests that the Democrats are likely to hold their majorities among female senators and congresswomen for years to come.