Ayotte to Be Part of NH’s All-Female Delegation in Congress

When she is sworn into office on Thursday, GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte will be among an all-female congressional delegation from New Hampshire — the first state in the nation’s history to have such representation in Washington.

Ayotte, 44, the former state Attorney General who was first elected in 2010, joins three Democrats representing New Hampshire on Capitol Hill, the New York Times reports.

They are Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, 65, who once served as governor, and two new members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Carol Shea-Porter, 60, who lost her seat in 2010 and won it back in November, and Ann McLane Kuster, 56, a lawyer and lobbyist.

With the Thursday swearing-in, women will comprise 20 percent of the new Senate and 17.9 percent of the new House — both records, the Times reports  — though they fall far short of matching the 50.8 percent of the general population that is female.

In addition, Maggie Hassan, 54, a Democrat, is New Hampshire’s new governor, the Times reports.

“Pink is the new power color in New Hampshire,” Kuster said at a recent forum at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester, the Times reports.