McCarthy lauds ‘Year Of Republican Women’ With At Least 15 New GOP Women Headed To Congress
Republican House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California touted “the year of Republican women” on Saturday, to celebrate the record number of GOP women who flipped seats from Democrats during the November 3 election.
At least 15 Republican women are set to join the House of Representatives after turning blue districts into red and Rep. McCarthy noted that least half of them are women of color.
More seats are yet to be called.
“We won from Miami to Oklahoma City to New York to California. Not one Republican incumbent lost, so I don’t know what Nancy Pelosi was talking about because 12 Democrat incumbents lost … every single Democrat either lost to a woman, minority or veteran,” Rep. McCarthy told “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday.
“This is the year of Republican women because more than 50% of this incoming freshman class is made up of women or minorities. We are stronger because of our diversity,” he added.
Earlier, McCarthy noted that the GOP will have more Republican women in Congress in the history of Congress.
“We’ll have more women in Congress as Republicans than in the history of Congress.
That says something about what President Trump has been able to do to expand this party — bring diversity and that brings strength. The same thing that brings strength to America. Diversity is now the Republican Party as well,” he said.
On Saturday, the House Minority leader praised Republican lawmaker-elect, Young Kim, a Korean-American who returned a traditionally red seat in Orange County to the GOP, as “an amazing woman,” after she was declared the winner in her district on Friday.
Rep. McCarthy also lauded the victory of Michelle Steele, another Korean-American who also managed to snatch California’s 48th District from Democratic incumbent Harley Rouda.
Record number of Republican women
According to the Center for American Women and Politics, at least 32 Republican women will join the next Congress, surpassing the record of 30 GOP women representatives in 2006. At least 26 Republican women so far will be headed to the House of Representatives — including at least 15 new members, surpassing the earlier record of 25 Republican women elected to the House.
“We’re going to have more women in the Republican Congress than in the history of Congress before, and it’s just only the beginning. We’re just getting started,” Rep. McCarthy added, as he was flanked by lawmaker-elect Maria Elvira Salazar (Florida), and Stephanie Bice (Oklahoma).
Aside from Kim, Steele, Salazar and Bice, other winning Republican womenwere Yvette Herrell (New Mexico), Michelle Fischbash (Minnesota), Ashley Hinson (Iowa), Nancy Mace (South Carolina), Beth Van Duyne (Texas), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Kat Cammack (Florida), Diana Harshbarger (Tennessee), Nicole Malliotakis (New York), Lisa McClain (Michigan), and Mary Miller (Illinois) and Victoria Spartz (Indiana), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia).
Rep.-elect Salazar, a former Spanish-language journalist, said she beat Democratic incumbent Donna Shalala due to fears of “socialism.” In Minnesota, Rep.-elect Fischbach unseated Democrat Collin Peterson who has represented the 7th Congressional District for 30 years.
Trump expanded Republican Party
Meanwhile, Rep.-elect Hinson from Iowa earlier noted that the number of women representatives in the GOP “changes the dynamic of the dialogue” about what the Republican Party looks like.
“This is a party that’s seen an expanded tent under the Trump administration. We’ve seen more people come to the Republican Party. And I think that women are an important part of that expansion,” she said.
Hinson added that each woman Republican who won in the election has a “relatable background.”
“I think what it came down to is people want someone in Congress just like them. And that’s exactly what this field of candidates did this cycle.”
Only 13 GOP women won seats in the House in 2018, and only 11 ran for reelection this year.
