In 2020 a record number of women ran for Congress, surpassing the record number set in the midterm 2018 elections.
A record 490 women filed for U.S. House seats compared to the previous record of 476 in 2018.
In South Carolina, five women ran in the primary for House seats. Winning were Adair Burroughs, Kim Nelson, and Melissa Watson, all Democrats, and Nancy Mace, a Republican. Nancy Mace went on to win her District 1 race.
A record number of women, who surged to victory in 2018, now serve in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, governorships, state legislatures and local offices.
Six women – a record number — ran for the U.S. presidency in 2020. None won the nomination, but Kamala Harris went on to become the first female Vice President.
In 2021, 143 women serve in the U.S. Congress – 119 in the House (including 49 women of color) and 24 in the Senate (including three women of color).
Even so, women make up less than 27 percent of the entire Congress.
In four states, both U.S. senators are women. The states are Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Washington.
Nine women serve as governor in 2021.
Seventeen women serve as lieutenant governor.
In 2021, just 31 women served as mayors in the 100 largest U.S. cities.
In 2021, 94 women serve in statewide elective executive.
Women hold 31 percent of seats in the 50 state legislatures in 2021.
Women of color hold 8.2 percent of state legislature seats.
South Carolina – with just 30 women in its General Assembly (or 17.6 percent) — ranks 46th in the nation in terms of female representation.
For more information, go to “ Women in Elective Office 2021” and also to Current Numbers, Center for American Women in Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University, 2021.