Throughout the election cycle, much of the national media has reminded Republicans that only 13 of their 197 House members are women.
On Tuesday night, Republicans took a big step toward increasing the ranks of women in the House — certainly to 20 and, depending on the outcome of some undecided races, doubling their present numbers to 26.
The untold story of the new class of women in the House is that, almost to a person, they are usually conservative on cultural and economic issues and, in many cases, share the “take-no-prisoners” style of President Donald Trump.
Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, who unseated Rep. Scott Tipton in the Republican primary, is best-known as the owner of a pub in which waitresses openly wear firearms. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman from suburban Atlanta who once espoused the controversial QAnon conspiracy theory, won an open congressional seat.
Having once warned on Facebook that “there is an Islamic invasion into our government offices right now,” Greene declared “children should not wear masks” and called Black males “slaves to the Democratic Party.”
In New York, state Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis and former Rep. Claudia Tenney took out Democrat incumbents. Both were strong “law and order” advocates who fought Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s liberal abortion legislation while serving together in the New York State Assembly.
Other notable female winners on the right include Maria Salazar, a Cuban-American TV newscaster who unseated Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.; Mary Miller, a businesswoman and farmer, who won the seat of Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. (that was once held by President Abraham Lincoln), by running as an anti-establishment Trump-style Republican; state Sen. Victoria Spartz, a Ukraine-born businesswoman and unabashed free marketeer, who won the Indiana-5 district of retiring moderate Rep. Susan Brooks; and Diana Harshbarger, a millionaire pharmacist and “Trump conservative,” who defeated nine primary opponents to win Tennessee’s heavily Republican 1st District.
In the last Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and three other self-styled socialists known as “the squad” got considerable attention for espousing a progressive agenda. It will be interesting to see whether a “counter squad” will emerge from the women on the right who will be a factor in the coming House.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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