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The election of 1992 was hailed as the Year Of The Woman. In the wake of Anita Hill’s testimony against the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, female candidates such as Patty Murray were moved to run for office. Then-candidate Barbara Mikulski took issue with press coverage that treated her like a novelty*, treating the whole thing like “The Year Of Asparagus” (Mikulski’s words).

This year’s coverage of women in politics has, reasonably, focused the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. In the Senate, women will also play a historic role, but not because of their gender.

The four women pictured above are all Democrats: Deborah Ross (North Carolina), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), and Katy McGinty (Pennsylvania). They are running in some of next month’s closest Senate races. There are also close races in Indiana and Missouri. Control of the Senate in 2017 hinges on these races; current polls suggest that Democrats+Independents could end up with as many as 53 seats, depending on how their races turn out.

However, Republicans’ best outcome is similar, about 52 seats. And somewhat surprisingly, Senate polls have edged toward Republicans in the last several weeks. It looks like it will be right down to the wire. For supporters of both major parties, these races are of tremendous significance.

These candidates’ election will change the gender composition in the Senate (currently 20 women out of 100). However, it is not as groundbreaking – there were fewer women in the Senate in 1992, and in this case Maggie Hassan (D) would replace another woman, Kelly Ayotte (R). There is also Tammy Duckworth (D) in Illinois, who is a safe bet to oust Senator Mark Kirk (R). As Democratic Senators, these candidates would affect how a President Hillary Clinton would get Supreme Court and Cabinet nominees approved, how treaties will get ratified, and how the budget and legislative process will play out. In addition, as Rebecca Traister explained in our Politics & Polls podcast, Clinton may very well push for children’s issues in the new Congress. In this domain, women bring extra credibility to the table.

For those who wish to get involved, the left sidebar contains links to the National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) and to a list hosted by ActBlue, which supports Democrats.

*Senator Mikulski’s reaction reminds me of an experience I had in 2005, when I visited a local town association to talk about neuroscience. Many members were Princeton University alumni from a time when the school did not admit women. One of them remarked favorably about the ascent of my colleague, Prof. Shirley Tilghman, to University president. He said he didn’t have a problem with that. (Whew.) But he also mentioned the school’s leadership, noting in a concerned tone that it seemed that half the leadership was now composed of women. Deadpan, I replied, “it seems like a lot, doesn’t it.” He didn’t get it.