Women in the United States Senate Women in the United States Senate There have been 52 total women in the United States Senate since its establishment in 1789. The first woman who served as a U.S. Senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922. The first woman elected to the Senate was Hattie Caraway from Arkansas in 1932. Fifteen of the women who have served were appointed; seven of those were appointed to succeed their deceased husbands. As of April 9, 2018 when Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi was sworn in, the 115th United States Congress has 23 female Senators out of 100
Women in the United States Senate senators in a general election, unseating Senators Spencer Abraham and Slade Gorton respectively. Hillary Clinton was the first and only First Lady to run for and win a United States Senate seat; she joined the Senate in 2001. She is also the only female U.S. Senator (and only woman) to be the nominee of a major party for President of the United States, which occurred in 2016. In 2008, Kay Hagan became the first woman to unseat a female incumbent, Elizabeth Dole. Upon the opening of the 112th Congress in 2011, New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen was joined by newly