
Remember the Blue Wave that swept Congress in the mid-term cycle after Trump’s first election?
Democrats gained 41 US House seats, with 24 of those flipped by women. Overall, 35 new Democratic women joined Congress during that cycle, the largest jump in representation since 1992.
As we enter what we hope will be another good cycle for Democrats—and women—we wanted to take a look at the groundbreaking Class of 2018 and where they are now. The answer? Two-thirds are still serving in Congress. While some have lost re-election, others have moved into leadership positions over the years.
And this cycle, we’re seeing a record number of Class of 2018 women mount campaigns for higher office. So many that we created a Class of 2018 slate:
- Katie Porter (CA Governor)
- Haley Stevens (MI US Senate)
- Angie Craig (MN US Senate)
- Deb Haaland (NM Governor)
- Mikie Sherrill (NJ Governor)
- Abigail Spanberger (VA Governor)
And here’s more on the historic Class of 2018:
- Elissa Slotkin was elected to the US Senate last year, replacing retiring US Sen. Debbie Stabenow (MI). And US Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) now serves in US House leadership.
- Sadly, eight lost re-election: Debbie Mucarsel Powell (FL-26), Donna Shalala (FL-27), Abby Finkenauer (IA-1), Cindy Axne (IA-3), Xochitl Torres Small (NM-2), Kendra Horn (OK-5), Susan Wild (PA-7) and Elaine Luria (VA-2). Of those, Mucarsel Powell, Finkenauer, and Horn later ran unsuccessfully for US Senate.
- Others took high-level jobs in the Biden Administration: Abby served as Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues; Xochitl was Deputy Agriculture Secretary; and Cindy was a senior advisor in the Agriculture Department.
- And many are still involved in politics and policy: Elaine leads a PAC that supports VA legislative candidates; Katie Hill (CA-25) serves on the LA Homeless Services Authority; and Donna serves on the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense.
- Note that three others—US Reps. Jahana Hayes (CT-5), Susie Lee (NV-3), and Kim Schreier (WA-8)—are rated as Lean or Likely Democratic by the Cook Political Report, which means they have competitive races in 2026. We will promote them on future slates of competitive US House incumbents.
WomenCount supports women up and down the ballot with the goal of building the pipeline—and the members of the Class of 2018 running for higher office show how that investment pays off.
Please support them as they continue their political journey.
Thanks,
The WomenCount team
PS—Some of these Class of 2018 members are running for higher office against other women. While this slate is an opportunity to support the Class of 2018 women, we encourage our donors to support all qualified Democratic women running and will be circulating other inclusive slates in the future.