Democrats have more diverse slate of new House members than Republicans
There is a widening chasm between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill in terms of policy, but also in terms of demographics. The newly elected members of the 116th Congress look very different when they're divided by party, and that was captured on a flyer being passed around in the Capitol that identified the incoming class by party.
Here are the incoming Republicans:
And here are the incoming Democrats:
Thirty out of the 31 Republican members-elect are men. All 31 members-elect are white. That may change if Republican Young Kim is declared the victor in a closely contested California House race. If elected, Kim would be the first Korean-American woman sent to the House of Representatives.
On the other side of the aisle, Election night delivered some groundbreaking victories to Democratic candidates: Among the 56 incoming Democratic members, 34 are women, and that number could increase if three women currently locked in contested races are elected.
Members-elect Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are the first Muslim women sent to Congress, and Deb Haaland and Sharice Davids are the first Native American women elected to Congress. Ayanna Pressley is Massachusetts' first black member of Congress, and Abby Finkenauer is the first woman sent to Congress from Iowa. According to CBS News analysis, 99 women were elected to the House this year, and 86 of them are Democrats.