'The stars of 2020 are the Republican women.'
The days of left-wing stereotyping of the Republican Party as an exclusive domain for old white men are over. The Republican Party is a diverse party, and its impact is growing because of it.
Republican officeholders include more women, more minorities and more veterans than ever before. Thanks to tireless campaigning by Ambassador Nikki Haley, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and the members of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), Republicans did not lose a single incumbent in the House of Representatives and flipped several House seats in formerly blue districts or districts the Democrats hoped to flip, leaving Speaker Nancy Pelosi with the smallest House majority since World War II. The Senate majority will be determined by the outcome of two runoffs in Georgia – including Senator Kelly Loeffler's race. Republicans still dominate in state legislatures, which will determine redistricting once the 2020 Census is completed.
“The stars of 2020 are the Republican women,” said NFRW President Ann Schockett. “We have at least 18 newly elected congresswomen – all of whom come from different walks of life. NFRW is the largest grassroots Republican women’s organization in the country. We have been there every step of the way, through empowerment, campaign training and support to ensure Republican victory. You have Nancy Mace from South Carolina, a veteran and the first woman to graduate from the Citadel. There’s Victoria Spartz from Indiana, a Ukrainian immigrant who understands first-hand the horrors of living under socialism. Michelle Fischbach is Minnesota’s former lieutenant governor, while Mary Miller from Illinois is a farmer and a teacher. Beth Van Duyne of Texas is a single mom who was elected mayor of Irving before running for Congress. Young Kim and Michelle Steel from California will be the first Korean-American women to serve in Congress. And there are more inspiring stories. That’s where real diversity and the American dream meet to make success stories.”
As for Republican women in the Senate, Schockett said Democrats underestimated our staying power. “Senator Joni Ernst was a big Democrat target, and the pundits were convinced she’d lose. She won by a comfortable margin. We are proud of Cynthia Lummis, the Senator-elect from Wyoming. And, when Senator Kelly Loeffler is victorious, she will help guarantee that Senator Mitch McConnell will remain majority leader.”
When the new Congress convenes in January, Schockett believes that Republican women will give their Democrat colleagues a run for their money when it comes to making their views heard on important legislation. “Democrat women such as Nancy Pelosi and AOC have received an unbalanced amount attention from the media,” Schockett said. “That is not going to be the case in 2021. Republican women have already proven that we will be a strong and vocal force in the new Congress!”