For the first time in American history, women now hold more than one quarter of all legislative seats nationwide, The Hill reported on Monday.
The 11 female legislators sworn in as new members of Virginia's House of Delegates last month helped boost the number of women in state legislatures to 1,866, or 25.3 percent of the total across the country.
The last time women passed a symbolic threshold came more than a quarter century ago in 1992, the so-called "Year of the Woman," when women passed the 20 percent mark of state legislative seats nationwide for the first time.
Many expect the record percentage to continue soaring after this year's midterms, as thousands of women have filed to run for office.
In general, Democrats have been more likely to elect female candidates, although the Republican Party has narrowed the gender gap in recent years, when large numbers of GOP candidates were swept into office.
Of the women currently serving in state legislators, 1,141 are Democrats and 704 are Republicans. Eight represent third parties, and the 13 women who serve in Nebraska's state Senate are technically nonpartisan.
However, Democrats may be on the verge of substantially expanding their lead once again.
There has been a surge in the number of women, most apparently driven by opposition to President Donald Trump, who are running for office, as well as donating to candidates.
CNN reported recently that the number of women contacting the national political action committee EMILY's List about running for election has soared from 920 to more than 19,000.
Arizona and Vermont currently have the highest proportion of women serving in state legislatures, with 40 percent of the representatives being female, according to The Hill. In five other states — Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Illinois and Maine — more than a third of the state legislators are female.
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