Boston City Council member Ayanna Pressley has become Massachusetts’s first black woman elected to the US House of Representatives.
The 44-year-old Pressley surprised America in September when she defeated 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano to win the primary for Massachusetts’s Seventh Congressional District. It marked a major win for Democratic candidates of color, especially black women.
And because there was no Republican challenger, Pressley took the seat easily.
Pressley long argued that her race and gender were not the only qualities that set her apart from her primary competitor; her life experiences also play a big role. Pressley says her personal background is key for a leader in her district, which has a large nonwhite population and struggles with economic inequality — arguing that “the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power.” She’s also openly talked about being a survivor of sexual abuse and being raised by her mother while her father was incarcerated.
What happens when women win elections
The 2018 midterms were huge for women candidates. In Tennessee, Marsha Blackburn became the state’s first woman senator. In Massachusetts, Ayanna Pressley is the first African-American woman elected to the House from Massachusetts. In Maine, voters chose Janet Mills to be the state’s first woman governor. And Sharice Davids, Deb Haaland, and Yvette Herrell became the first Native American women elected to Congress.
A total of 273 women were on the ballot in the 2018 midterms, representing both parties. By comparison, an average of 171 women advanced past their gubernatorial and congressional primaries in the past five elections.
Read Article >Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the year of victory red lipstick
During her victory speech, newly elected Rep. Ayanna Pressley asked the crowd, “Can a congresswoman wear her hair in braids, rock a black leather jacket and a bold red lip?” Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty ImagesIt was a historic night for women in politics. Women won more seats in Congress than at any point in history — 92 in the House and 10 in the Senate — including the first Native American and first Muslim women ever elected to Congress and the two youngest Congress members ever to serve.
Among the latter was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York’s 14th Congressional District, a Latina 29-year-old democratic socialist who defeated the Democratic incumbent during the primaries in June in a major upset, then went on to easily beat her Republican opponent in the general election.
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