Politics

Lucky 13

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 11, 2001 / 10:43 AM EST / CBS

The times are changing on Capitol Hill. November's election brought a record number of women to the U.S. Senate.

Ten Democrats and three Republican women say they're willing to pool their collective power to help bring a bipartisan spirit to an evenly divided body.

"We are not women first, we are senators representing our states first," said Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison told Diana Olick on the CBS News Early Show.

Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski, a leader in helping women senators get their bearings, said of the new, larger number: "When America looks at the U.S Senate, they see 13 women on that floor. And we are a force."

The women in the Senate believe they can handle any issue, including those of war and peace. Still, they feel they are often expected to focus on women's issues. In fact, that was how they first came together: Sen. Mikulski worked with Sen. Hutchison on pension plans for homemakers. Ultimately, that led to better comaraderie.

And that comaraderie has led to a broader range of issues where they work together.

Less than twenty years ago, there were only two women senators. Historically, women did not vote for women. Now that seems to be changing, probably because as women see more women holding office, they become more likely to vote for a female candidate.