A record number of women are serving in the 117th Congress
Women make up just over a quarter of all members of the 117th Congress – the highest percentage in U.S. history.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Women make up just over a quarter of all members of the 117th Congress – the highest percentage in U.S. history.
Even as younger generations gain representation in Congress, older generations still make up the majority of senators and representatives.
Turnout in this year’s primaries for Congress and most state governorships surged compared with the last midterms in 2014, particularly among Democrats. Nearly a fifth (19.6%) of registered voters – about 37 million – cast ballots in primary elections for the U.S. House of Representatives – a 56% increase over the 23.7 million who voted in 2014’s House primaries. Turnout that year was 13.7% of registered voters.
Mitch McConnell’s decision to shorten the chamber’s August recess isn’t unprecedented. But in an election year – when a third of senators are on the campaign trail – it’s unusual.
More members of the U.S. House of Representatives are choosing not to seek re-election than at any time in the past quarter-century.
At least 65 of the current voting members of Congress are immigrants or the children of immigrants. These members represent nearly half of U.S. states.
Senate seats have rarely flipped to the other party in recent special elections, and turnout usually lags compared with regular elections for the same seat.
The vast majority of proposed amendments die quiet, little-mourned deaths in committees and subcommittees.
Special elections to the U.S. House of Representatives tend to be low-turnout events, historically speaking, and seldom result in seats switching from one party to another.
The president has been slow to nominate people to fill key posts, and most of those he has named have had to overcome the cloture hurdle before being confirmed.
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