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Many 2018 Midterms Races Haven’t Been Called Yet — And Women Could Still Win Them
The 2018 midterms aren't over yet. Many races are either still undecided or heading into a runoff, so we won't have the full results for weeks. Some of the remaining candidates are female, which means that the too close to call midterms races may bring even more women into the government after an already-record 123 congresswomen will be serving next year.
Tuesday really was a historic night for women. There will definitely be at least 23 female senators in Washington D.C. next year (including 13 who will be serving for the first time) and 100 female representatives (including 35 new ones), per CNN. The highest number of women to have served in the House before was 84, according to The Washington Post, so these results have already shattered records. It seems that female members are certain to make up at least 23 percent of both congressional chambers.
But that figure could reach even higher. FiveThirtyEight reports there are still 15 races at the federal level that haven't been decisively called yet. There's also a high-profile race for the Georgia governorship and countless tight races on the local level. Here are the elections that may yet deliver victories for female candidates.
Kyrsten Sinema And Martha McSally, Running For The Senate In Arizona
Democrat Sinema and Republican McSally, who are both currently serving in the House of Representatives, are neck and neck in competition for an Arizona Senate seat. The latest results from 11:20 p.m. ET on Thursday have McSally exactly 1 point ahead of Sinema, per Politico.
Stacey Abrams, Running For Georgia Governor
Democrat Abrams is running against Brian Kemp in a close race that has been marked by intense voter suppression. Kemp asserted on Thursday that he won and subsequently resigned his current position as secretary of state, but the Abrams campaign has refused to concede and says there may be votes left to certify for days.
Young Kim, Running For The House In California
Republican Kim is running against Democrat Gil Cisneros in California's 39th District and currently leads him by 2.6 points, according to an 11:40 p.m. ET update from The New York Times on Thursday. Kim was formerly an aide to Ed Royce, a Republican who's represented the district since 1993 and is now retiring.
Cindy Hyde-Smith, Running For The Senate In Mississippi
Republican Hyde-Smith was appointed to the Senate in May as an interim replacement for Thad Cochran, who resigned due to health problems. She ran against Democrat Mike Espy on Tuesday, but because neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote, there will be a runoff election on Nov. 27. Slate reports that Hyde-Smith is likely to win because the vote will no longer be split between multiple Republican candidates.
Mia Love, Running For The House In Utah
Republican Love, who's represented Utah's 4th District since 2015 as the only female black conservative in Congress, is still battling it out with Democrat Ben McAdams. She's currently behind by 2.7 points, per an 11:50 a.m. ET New York Times update on Thursday. Even though the race isn't over yet, President Donald Trump slammed Love during a press conference on Wednesday, declaring her to have lost and blaming the fact that she "gave me no love" during her campaign.
Gina Ortiz Jones, Running For The House In Texas
Democrat Ortiz Jones is up against Republican incumbent Will Hurd, and although Hurd declared himself the winner on Wednesday, her campaign is refusing to concede. It seems likely that the final margin will be small enough to allow either candidate to call for a recount. A 12 p.m. ET update from The New York Times had Hurd leading Ortiz Jones by 0.6 points, an extremely narrow margin of just over a thousand votes.
Carolyn Bourdeaux, Running For The House In Georgia
Democrat Bourdeaux is running just slightly behind incumbent Republican Rob Woodall in Georgia's 7th District and has so far refused to concede. An update from The New York Times at 12 p.m. ET had Woodall up by 0.3 points on Thursday.
Katie Porter And Mimi Walters, Running For The House In California
Democrat Porter, a consumer protection attorney, is up against Republican Walters, a former investment banker, and is currently trailing her opponent. The New York Times reports that Walters is leading Porter by 3.4 points as of 11:40 p.m. ET on Thursday. As with the Arizona Senate race, a win for either candidate would send a woman to Congress. Walters has already been serving the 45th District since 2015.
It may be days before definitive results come in from some of these extraordinarily tight races. Keep checking in, and look out for potential recounts and runoffs in the coming weeks.
