Women in Legislature to have modest gain in 2019

Montana showed modest gains in the number of women elected to the state Legislature, according to a group that aids state legislatures nationwide and unofficial results posted on the secretary of state’s website.

An initial count is that 45 women will serve in 2019, which is a slight increase from this year’s 42. That’s 29 women in the House and 13 in the Senate, said Katie Ziegler of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

On a national level, it was a history-making election for female candidates, NCLS said, adding at least 118 women will serve in Congress in 2019 and there will be at least nine female governors, tying a previous record.

NCSL’s early review suggests that at least 2,073 women will occupy seats in the 50 state houses, an increase of more than 190 than during the 2018 session. The nationwide share of female legislators will be around 28.1 percent, nearly 3 percentage points higher than in 2018, the organization reported.

In Montana, that percent rose to 29.3 percent this election cycle.

They noted female lawmakers will be in the majority in the Nevada Assembly, if preliminary results hold, as they will make up 22 of 42 seats.

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