The Year of the Woman was a popular label attached to 1992 after the election of a number of female senators in the United States. [1] The term has also been used with respect to the 2018 House elections, in which a record 103 women were elected, 90 of whom were Democrats. [2] [3]
The hotly contested Senate confirmation hearings in 1991 for Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas involving the allegations of Anita Hill raised the question of the dominance of men in the Senate. [1]
In 1991, the Senate included two female members, but neither Nancy Kassebaum of Kansas nor Barbara Mikulski of Maryland served on the Judiciary Committee. Reportedly, Washington state senator Patty Murray decided to run for the U.S. Senate after watching these hearings. [1]
While Murray set out to raise the necessary funds, two other women several hundred miles to the south in California began work on their own Senate campaigns. As a result, on January 3, 1993, for the first time in American history, California became the first state in the nation to be represented in the Senate by two women. In the 1992 elections, Dianne Feinstein, a former Democratic mayor of San Francisco, running for the balance of an uncompleted term, beat her opponent with a margin of nearly two million votes, while Barbara Boxer—a 10-year veteran of the U.S. House of Representatives who had joined six of her Democratic women colleagues in a march on the Senate to urge greater attention to Anita Hill's charges—solidly won a full term. [1]
At a presidential debate at the University of Richmond, President George H. W. Bush was asked when his party might nominate a woman for president. Bush, noting that the women running that year were predominantly liberal Democrats, stated "This is supposed to be the year of the women in the Senate. Let's see how they do. I hope a lot of them lose." [4]
A week after the election, a popular Washington Post photograph illustrated the situation. Standing with exultant Democratic Majority Leader George Mitchell were not only Murray, Feinstein and Boxer but also Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois, the first black woman elected to the Senate. Never before had four women been elected to the Senate in a single election year. (Five, if Mikulski's successful re-election bid that year is counted.) Within months, another woman senator would join them: Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who won a special election in June 1993. [1]
When the newcomers joined incumbents Kassebaum and Mikulski in January 1993, headline-writers described the occurrence as "The Year of the Woman." In response, Senator Mikulski said, "Calling 1992 the Year of the Woman makes it sound like the Year of the Caribou or the Year of the Asparagus. We're not a fad, a fancy, or a year." [1] Mikulski predicted that, as more women joined the Senate, the novelty of a female senator would fade; as more women joined the Senate in the coming years, this prediction came true. [1]
Patricia Lynn Murray is an American politician and president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023 and the senior United States Senator from Washington since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington's first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Murray is also the youngest senator to occupy the office of president pro tempore in more than five decades. As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
Barbara Sue Boxer is an American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the U.S. representative for California's 6th congressional district from 1983 until 1993.
Dianne Emiel Feinstein was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.
Barbara Ann Mikulski is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987. Mikulski is the third-longest-serving female United States Senator, and the longest-serving U.S. Senator in Maryland history.
EMILYs List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast". Malcolm commented that "it makes the dough rise". The saying refers to a convention of political fundraising: receiving many donations early in a race helps attract subsequent donors. EMILYs List bundles contributions to the campaigns of Democratic women in favor of abortion rights running in targeted races.
Nancy Josephine Kassebaum Baker is an American politician from Kansas who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1978 to 1997. She is the daughter of Alf Landon, who was Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937 and the 1936 Republican nominee for president, and the widow of former U.S. senator and diplomat Howard Baker.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. Its purpose is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, who succeeded Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto after the 2020 Senate elections. DSCC's current executive director is Christie Roberts.
The 1992 United States Senate elections, held November 3, 1992, were elections for the United States Senate. The 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, along with special elections to fill vacancies. They coincided with Bill Clinton's victory in the presidential election. This was the first time since 1956 that the balance of the Senate remained the same.
This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states represented by women in the Senate. The first female U.S. senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922, and the first woman elected to the Senate, Hattie Caraway, was elected from Arkansas in 1932. Since its establishment in 1789, 60 women have served in the upper house of the United States Congress. As of October 3, 2023, there are 25 women serving as U.S. senators out of 100 possible seats. Additionally, Kamala Harris as vice president serves as President of the Senate.
The 1992 United States Senate election in California took place on November 3, 1992, at the same time as the special election to the United States Senate in California. Incumbent Democrat Alan Cranston decided to retire. Democrat Barbara Boxer won the open seat. This election was noted as both of California's senators were elected for the first time. This is not a unique occurrence; it would happen again in Tennessee in 1994, Kansas in 1996, and Georgia in 2021. Fellow Democrat Dianne Feinstein, California's senior senator, won the special election and was inaugurated in November 1992.
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Carolyn Barbara Kuhl is a judge on the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles and a former nominee to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She became a Superior Court judge in 1995 and was nominated to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on June 22, 2001, by President George W. Bush.
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The 1992 United States elections elected state governors, the President of the United States, and members of the 103rd United States Congress. The election took place after the Soviet Union crumbled and the Cold War ended, as well as the redistricting that resulted from the 1990 census. Often considered "The Year Of The Woman," these elections brought an increased number of female politicians to Washington such as Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Carol Moseley Braun (D-IL). Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent President George H. W. Bush and businessman Ross Perot in the presidential election. The Democratic Party maintained their control of both chambers of Congress. This is the first Democratic trifecta since the Republican victory in the 1980 elections and the last one during the 20th century and the last one overall until 2008.
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The 2018 United States Senate election in California took place on November 6, 2018, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent California, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives, and various state and local elections.
The 2024 United States Senate elections in California will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of California. There will be two ballot items for the same Class 1 seat: a special election to fill the seat for the final weeks of the 118th United States Congress, and a general election for a full term that starts on January 3, 2025, starting in the 119th United States Congress. California uses a nonpartisan blanket primary, in which all candidates regardless of party affiliation appear on the same primary ballot and the two highest-placing candidates advance to the general election; however, special election winners can win outright if they win more than 50% of the vote in the first round.