(WOMENSENEWS)–The year 2006 may not equal the 1992 “Year of the Woman,” but it could be the “Year of the Woman Speaker.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who runs her party as minority leader in the House of Representatives, is poised to become the first female Speaker of the House after her party won control of Congress in the Nov. 7 midterm election.
Democratic women are also in line to take over a record number of committees and subcommittees.
Following the election, 57 female incumbents retained their seats in the House and 10 new women were elected. Five other races involving female candidates were still to be decided on Nov. 8.
In the Senate, a record 16 women will serve. Six incumbent women were re-elected and two new women were elected; they join eight others who were not up for election this year.
In the gubernatorial races, five of the eight female governors who ran for re-election won their races, and one other, Sarah Palin of Alaska, will join their ranks. Nine of the nation’s governors will be women in 2007.
Results in Key Races
“Election 2006: Women’s eNews Election Returns”
Run Date: Nov. 7, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=2928
Campaign 2006: Women’s eNews Coverage
“Dems Take House; Pelosi in Line for Speaker”
Run Date: Nov. 5, 2006. Last updated Nov. 8:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2949/
“Women’s Issues Demoted to Political Untouchables”
Run Date: Nov. 8, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2953/
“Women’s Voting Patterns Key to Who Runs Congress”
Run Date: Nov. 7, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2952/
“Lawmaker Funnels $750,000 to Abortion Ban Campaign”
Run Date: Nov. 4, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2950/
“Female Dark Horses Surge to Election’s Finish Line”
Run Date: Nov. 2, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2945/
“Even Before Election Day Women Can Count Some Wins”
Run Date: Nov. 1, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2943/
“Ballots Stacked With Gender-Sensitive Initiatives”
Run Date: Oct. 26, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2937/
“Female Candidates for State Offices Break a Record”
Run Date: Oct. 18, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2929/
“New York Lawyer Puts Heat on U.S. House Incumbent”
Run Date: Oct. 17, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2926/
“Ranks of Female Governors Test Record in November”
Run Date: Oct. 13, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2922/
“Minnesota’s Klobuchar Enjoys Huge Gender Gap”
Run Date: Oct. 10, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2918/
“Female Candidates Rally Dems in Washington State”
Run Date: Oct. 3, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2911/
“First for Women Flying Under Election Radar”
Run Date: Sept. 29, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2904/
“Missouri’s McCaskill in Dead Heat for Senate”
Run Date: Sept. 25, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2897/
“Election Victories Reveal a PAC’s Rising Influence”
Run Date: Sept. 21, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2896/
“Lawless Tests Political Legs in Rhode Island”
Run Date: Sept. 11, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2884/
“Murphy Battles for Pennsylvania Swing District”
Run Date: Aug. 29, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2868/
“Anti-Incumbent Mood May Aid Women in 66 Primaries”
Run Date: Aug. 25, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2863/
“California Gender Report Stirs Legislative Push”
Run Date: Aug. 21, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2830/
“Female Vets Put Military Mettle in House Races”
Run Date: Aug. 3, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2849/
“Abortion Ban Draws S.D. Women into Race”
Run Date: July 25, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2837/
“‘Grandma’ Enters Scrappy Race for Texas Governor”
Run Date: July 18, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2819/
“Illinois Women Run High-Profile ’06 Campaigns”
Run Date: July 7, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2805/
“Activist Women Put Heat on Connecticut Incumbents”
Run Date: July 30, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2796/
“Female Base for Hillary in ’08 Is No Sure Thing”
Run Date: June 25, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2790/
“Whitman Tries to Tack GOP Back to Center”
Run Date: June 18, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2783/
“More Female Incumbents Face Women in ’06 Races”
Run Date: June 2, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2764/
“Pennsylvania Dems Backing Casey to Oust Santorum”
Run Date: May 12, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2737/
“Female Candidates’ Fortunes Tied to District Data”
Run Date: May 2, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2725/
“Political Women See Open Door in 2006 Elections”
Run Date: March 17, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2673/
“GOP’s Top Woman Could Also Fall in DeLay’s Wake”
Run Date: Jan. 26, 2006:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2614/
“Off-Year Races Offer Openings to Women”
Run Date: Nov. 8, 2005:
https://womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2519/
Sources for More Information
The Center for American Women and Politics:
http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/
EMILY’s List:
http://www.emilyslist.org/
The Wish List:
http://www.thewishlist.org/
The National Women’s Political Caucus:
http://www.nwpc.org/
The Women’s Campaign Forum:
http://www.wcfonline.org/
The National Federation of Republican Women:
http://www.nfrw.org/
The Women and Politics Institute:
http://wandp.american.edu/
Democratic Party, Women’s Vote Center:
http://www.democrats.org/a/communities/women/
Republican Party, Women’s Team:
http://www.rnc.org/Teams/Women/
Note: Women’s eNews is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites and the contents of Web pages we link to may change without notice.
