Suburban voters, and women in particular, helped lead Democrats to victory Tuesday in retaking control of the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years.
Democrats picked up more than two dozen seats in the lower chamber, forcing Republicans out of power and handing President Trump a divided Congress. Democratic candidates running in suburban districts saw the most success in besting their Republican opponents, ousting Republican incumbents in parts of Virginia, Texas, and Northern Virginia, among other districts.
According to exit polls from CNN, 59 percent of female voters backed Democrats running for the House, compared with 40 percent who supported Republicans on the ballot. Among male voters, meanwhile, 51 percent backed Republican candidates and 47 percent supported Democrats.
By comparison, 51 percent of women in the 2014 midterm elections supported Democratic House candidates and 47 percent favored the Republicans, according to CNN’s exit polls.
Independent women also broke for Democratic House candidates, with 56 supporting those candidates compared with 39 percent who cast votes for Republicans.
Democratic candidates saw success in garnering support from college-educated white women, 59 percent of whom supported them. By contrast, 56 percent of noncollege-educated white women supported Republicans. Minority women, however, overwhelmingly supported Democrats: 92 percent of African-American women and 73 percent of Latino women, according to CNN’s data.
While female voters were a key to Democrats’ success in gaining House seats, Tuesday’s elections also brought a record number of women who will serve in Congress next year.
For the first time in history, more than 100 women are expected to serve solely in the House, with female Democratic candidates primarily responsible for the boost.
Of the 29 seats Democrats gained, 18 of those candidates were women, according to Politico.
