The next session of Congress will feature the most female veterans never elected to the House and Senate, with at least eight winning races this year.

And that number could rise by another point: Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks holds a small lead in her re-election bid, with a few thousand votes left to count. The total is already double that of 2018while only four women with military experience were among the 535 voting members of Congress.

Next year’s class includes two freshmen lawmakers: South Carolina Republican Sheri Biggs and New Hampshire Democrat Maggie Goodlander.

RELATED

Biggs is a licensed nursing home administrator and former intensive care unit nurse who joined the Air National Guard. She served as medical team director for several combat missions in Afghanistan during Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Goodlander served in the Naval Reserve for more than a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s. She also worked as an attorney during the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump and at the Justice Department under the presidency of Joe Biden.

Two incumbent senators with military backgrounds did not face a re-election campaign this year: Iowa Republican Joni Ernst and Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth.

Four incumbent House members won re-election: Democrats Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Republicans Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia.

Fifteen races featuring veteran candidates — including the Miller-Meeks race — have yet to be officially decided. Already 79 veterans have won elections this cycle, joining 14 incumbent senators who did not contest elections this year.

However, at least one of these veteran incumbents is likely to resign his Senate post: Ohio Republican JD Vance, who was elected vice president on Tuesday.

University of San Francisco Veterans Campaign officials said that until these final races are decided, it is unclear whether the number of lawmakers with military experience will increase or decrease in the next session. The 118th Congress opened in 2023 with 97 veterans among its members.

Of the 79 election winners, 53 served part or all of their time in the military after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Seth Lynn, founder of the Veterans Campaign, said this group continues to gain prominence in legislative work regarding military and veterans issues.

“Post-9/11 veterans have demonstrated remarkable commitment to what we call their second service,” he said. “Over the past decade, the percentage of new members with military service has consistently exceeded the overall proportion of veterans in Congress, suggesting that the number of veterans in Congress is likely to continue to increase. »