Women's issues—and women's votes—were front and center in the Nov. 6 vote. If anyone has any doubt that women make a decisive difference in deciding who leads America, let us put that thought to rest (as we figure out how to elect a woman to the Senate in Mississippi).
LOSERS: Of six Republican congressional candidates who made absurd and insulting public comments about pregnancy, abortion and rape, voters defeated all of them. They include:
• Tom Smith, U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania (winner: Bob Casey with 54 percent)
• Linda McMahon, U.S. Senate, Connecticut (winner: Chris Murphy with 55 percent)
• Rick Berg, U.S. Senate, North Dakota (winner: Heidi Heitkamp with 50.5 percent)
• Roger Rivard, State Senate, Wisconsin (winner: Stephen Smith with 582 votes)
• Todd Akin, U.S. Senate, Missouri (winner: Claire McCaskill with 55 percent)
• Richard Mourdock, U.S. Senate Indiana (winner: Joe Donnelly, 49.9 percent)
WINNERS: The 113th Congress will have a record number of women serving. The U.S. Senate will have 20 women (16 Democrats, 4 Republicans), and the House will have 77 (57 Dems, 20 Repubs).
• Four states elected women to the U.S. Senate for the first time: Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Wisconsin.
• Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will be the first openly gay person in the U.S. Senate.
• Mazie Hirono (D-HI) will be the first Asian/Pacific Islander American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and the first U.S. Senator born in Japan. Hirono is only the second woman of color to serve in the Senate.
• Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) will be the first Hindu American in Congress.
• Formerly the last state legislative chamber without any women, South Carolina elected a woman to its state Senate.
• New Hampshire elected a female governor (Maggie Hassan, D) and an all-woman congressional delegation of two senators and two representatives.
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