Women win majority of seats in New Mexico Legislature in showcase of determination and joy [View all]
Source: AP
Updated 7:02 PM EST, November 8, 2024
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Women have won 60 seats in the New Mexico Legislature to secure the largest female legislative majority in U.S. history, stirring expressions of vindication and joy among candidates who knocked on doors and found voters were ready. New Mexico voters are sending 11 additional women — Democrats and Republicans — to bump up female representation in the 112-member Legislature. Female state senators will still hold a minority of seats — 16 out of 42.
Women have made slow, steady advances in statehouse representation across the country, with one notable surge in the 2018 election cycle almost entirely among Democrats in a trend associated with the #MeToo movement and political engagement linked to the election of Donald Trump as president.
In 2018, Nevada became the first state to elect a female legislative majority, later expanding it to more than 60% of seats with majorities in the state Assembly and Senate. Female legislators in New Mexico will hold a 54% majority — though with many more seats.
The share of women in all state legislatures combined roughly tripled from about 11% in 1980 to 33% going into the November election, when women held 2,424 seats nationwide, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/female-legislature-new-mexico-majority-ecf633cb46d6ae126ae7813772783434
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