The 2018 midterm elections saw several female Democratic candidates, many with backgrounds in the military or intelligence community, emerge victorious in competitive races to capture previously Republican-held seats — including Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia.

But Murphy acknowledged that much of the media’s coverage of the new class of lawmakers has focused on the party’s progressive wing. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan have garnered significant attention for their far-reaching policy proposals and the racist attacks on them by President Donald Trump.

“Are some voices amplified more than others? Sure,” Murphy said. “But I think one of the things that women always bring to the table — whether it’s in a carpool line, at the boardroom, or wherever else we show up — is that we show up and we listen. And then we find ways to civilly engage with one another.”

House Democrats “can disagree on policy, perhaps, but find through conversation and dialogue the ability to find common ground,” she continued. “And I’ve seen a lot of that.”

Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, another freshman Democrat who defeated a GOP incumbent in 2018, argued that both those moderate and progressive female lawmakers are contributing to a new dynamic within the halls of Congress, where men have historically dictated the legislative agenda and dominated the political narrative.

“One thing to remember is that we have not traditionally seen the loudest, boldest, most powerful voices coming out of Capitol Hill be women, and that is what we have right now,” Underwood said, referencing Murphy, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the members of the “squad,” and Rep. Pramila Jayapa of Washington, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

“We have some powerful women who are moving us forward, and that makes folks uncomfortable sometimes, right? We’ve not seen that before,” Underwood said. “But it doesn’t mean that there’s disagreement. It doesn’t mean that there’s all this conflict. It doesn’t mean that there’s like an inability to move forward. It just means that the face and the voice might be a little different than what we've seen previously.”