Gender was on the ballot in the 2024 election cycle. Much was made of the gender gap, the “manoverse”,“girl culture,” and gender was named the defining issue of the presidential race. We saw a dramatic gender gap in our own SheVotes poll last month. As we dig into the data over the coming weeks, we will see how the gender gap broke down at the top of the ticket.

In down ballot races, we saw a number of women break barriers and make history.

Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware will become the first two Black women to serve in the Senate at the same time. Never before has more than one Black woman served in the Senate at once. Their elections also double the total number of Black women ever elected to the Senate from two to four. Previously, Carole Mosely Braun and VP Kamala Harris were elected to the Senate. Laphonza Butler was appointed to the Senate after Senator Feinstein passed away.

With Kelly Ayotte’s election to the Governor’s office in New Hampshire, the country will see a record 13 number of women serving as Governor. In January, Delaware Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long will serve as Governor for two weeks, bringing the record to a momentary 14 women Governors.

At the Congressional level, Delaware State Senator and American University Alumna Sarah McBride was elected to Delaware’s only open Congressional seat, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. Yassamin Ansari becomes the first Middle Eastern/North African woman to serve in Arizona Congressional delegation. North Dakota elected Julie Fedorchak as the first woman to serve in Congress from their state. State Senator Nellie Pou was elected to Congress in New Jersey, and will be the first Latina to represent New Jersey in Washington.

There will be more to unpack in the coming days as more races are called and votes analyzed.