Mississippi is now the only state that has never sent a woman to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Originally published 19th

Republican Julie Fedorchak will become the first woman to represent North Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives. Fedorchak confidently secured his seat with almost 70 percent of the vote. When asked what it was like to be the first woman to represent her state in the House of Representatives, Fedorchak told The North Dakota Monitor that she was honored.

“I think it’s great to have a diversity of genders, backgrounds and views,” Fedorchak said. “We need to have as diverse representation in Washington as possible, and I’m glad to be a part of that.”

Fedorchak’s victory means Mississippi is the last state to never send a woman to the lower house of Congress. The state has one of the worst records for women’s representation in politics. No woman had been elected governor or served in either house of Congress until 2018, when Gov. Phil Bryant Appoints Cindy Hyde-Smith replace Senator Thad Cochran in the US Senate. Previously, it was the only state in the country to receive such an award.

At the state level, women currently make up just 15.5 percent of the Mississippi Legislature, one of the lowest percentages in the country, according to Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University (KAVP).

Number of women running for seats in the US House of Representatives down 20 percent this year — and far fewer Republican women qualified for primaries than in 2022, Jasmine Mitani reported for The 19th last month. This year, only 16 percent of Republican House candidates were women. In contrast, 46 percent of Democratic House candidates were women.