The new year is off to a busy start. Donald Trump has been president for a little over a week, and already his administration is dominating the Senate’s work, reshaping the makeup of the House, and undermining the country’s legal and immigration systems.
What’s happening in Washington is overwhelming, but there’s important work we can do this year in the states and locally to pull the emergency break during next year’s midterms.
10th Anniversary Spotlight: Looking Back + Looking Ahead
This year marks the 10-year anniversary of both the Electing Women Alliance and the WomenCount donation platform.
We first launched in 2015 with six Electing Women groups—Denver, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Boston—and we’re starting 2025 with 17 groups. In the past 10 years, these groups have raised more than $30 million for more than 60 women candidates.
We’ll be marking this milestone throughout the year, culminating with a network-wide celebration in Washington, DC, on Oct. 22-23, so please save the date.
US Senate: It’s Confirmation Season
Confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees are in full swing, and the Democratic women of the Senate are coming with questions.
As a member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Sen. Tammy Baldwin met with RFK recently, calling him “downright dangerous for Wisconsin families.” Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Tammy Duckworth grilled Pete Hegseth on whether he would obey illegal military orders and his experience negotiating international security agreements. And Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, as ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, led Democratic questioning of Sen. Marco Rubio, now confirmed as Secretary of State, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s UN Ambassador nominee.
We’re also keeping an eye on the Senate vacancies left by JD Vance in Ohio and Marco Rubio in Florida, and whether Democratic women will contest them in 2026. Florida attorney general Ashley Moody and Ohio lieutenant governor John Husted will fill the seats until then.
And—breaking news—Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan has announced he’s not running in 2026, opening up that seat. We are watching to see who enters that race, and the potential impact on the gubernatorial field as well.
🔖 Bookmark: Trump Cabinet confirmation status: Which nominees have been confirmed? [AP]
📖 Longread: Elissa Slotkin Just Wants to Be ‘Normal.’ Will Her Fellow Democrats Listen? [The Free Press]
📰 Analysis & News:
[WATCH] Ceremonial Senate Swearing In [C-SPAN]
Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester talks about her goals [Delaware Online]
AFRO News selects Senator Angela D. Alsobrooks as person of the year [AFRO]
Baldwin: I’ll keep standing up to Wall Street and Big Pharma [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
Sen. Jacky Rosen shares the four bills she’ll kickstart her 2025 efforts with [NBC 3 NV]
[LISTEN] Sen. Amy Klobuchar on leading Inauguration Day proceedings [MPR]
Kirsten Gillibrand gets Schumer’s nod to lead DSCC [Roll Call]
US House: Republican Vacancies Piling Up
Republicans in the House are getting to work on a massive reconciliation bill that will include all of Trump’s first-term legislative priorities—mostly immigration enforcement and tax cuts for high income earners.
But that will be hard to do with a historically narrow majority. After both Republican House members who have been nominated for administration positions—Reps. Stefanik, Michael Waltz (national security advisor)—are confirmed, the GOP majority will be down to 217 until the seats are filled. None of these special elections are likely to be competitive, but they will take several weeks to happen, meaning Trump’s agenda is likely dead until spring:
- FL-1 (Gaetz) and FL-6 (Waltz): Gov. Ron DeSantis has set both Florida special elections for April 1. Gaetz resigned last year after his nomination to be Attorney General fell through and in anticipation of his House Ethics report.
- NY-21 (Stefanik): By New York law the election must take place between 70 and 80 days after a vacancy is announced. Stefanik is expected to be confirmed this week, meaning the special election will likely take place in mid April.
🔖 Bookmark: 2025 Congressional Calendar [opens as a PDF]
📰 Analysis & News:
An Early Look at Potential Open House Seats in 2026 [Cook Political Report]
The 2024 Crossover House Seats: Overall Number Remains Low [Sabato’s Crystal Ball}
Women To Watch In The 119th U.S. Congress Freshman Class [Forbes]
Empowered MGP begins second term [Chinook Observer]
Marcy Kaptur makes move to run for reelection [Signal Cleveland]
Janelle Bynum looks for ‘low-hanging fruit’ in divided Congress [Oregon Capital Chronicle]
The Changing Face of the 119th Congress [US News]
State & Local: Races Happening Right Now
There are very important statewide races happening this year that will be critical to maintaining Democratic power during the next four years and growing women’s representation in statewide office. Here are three we’re watching:
- New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, Governor: This is a crowded race that includes heavy hitters like fellow Rep. Josh Gottheimer and the mayors of both Jersey City and Newark. The race is essentially tied right now. The Democratic primary is on June 10.
- Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, Governor: She has no primary challengers, but will likely face current Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears in the general election. This race is also tied. The general election is on Nov. 4.
- Wisconsin, Susan Crawford, Supreme Court: One of the Court’s liberal justices is retiring, putting control of the 4-3 body—and its decisions on issues like abortion and gerrymandering—at stake. This special election is April 1.
And to keep on your radar for next year: Last Wednesday, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced her campaign for governor. She is the first Democratic candidate to officially declare. Depending on how the newly vacant Senate field shapes up, other potential candidates for this primary are Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
🔖 Bookmark: See the full list of races we’re watching this year on our website.
📰 Analysis & News:
2026 Governors Ratings: Huge Map Invites a Whirlwind of Competition [Cook Political Report]
With Trump’s return, these House Democrats look for influence outside of Washington [NPR]
Democrats’ Battleground Leader, Exiting Congress, Reflects on What She Learned [NYT]
Virginia 2025 Poll: Spanberger (D) 42%, Earle-Sears (R) 41% [Emerson]
New Jersey 2025 Poll: Primary Elections for Governor [Emerson]
New Jersey governor hopefuls have raised $15.6M so far [New Jersey Monitor]
U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Endorses Judge Susan Crawford [Urban Milwaukee]
Who’s running for Michigan governor: Jocelyn Benson launches campaign [Bridge Michigan]
National & Women: Trump Watch, Inauguration Edition
Monday’s flurry of executive actions allowed us to begin the practice of focusing our attention on policies using the framework that Sen. Elissa Slotkin named during our swearing in celebration in DC—is it strategic, and is it irreversible? A few stand out as reaching that status:
- Pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, even those who committed violence against Capitol police, which are not reversible.
- Blocks on legal migration, including for asylum seekers, people with temporary protected status, and humanitarian parole.
- Questioning birthright citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment and has already been blocked by a federal judge.
We’re encouraging all our members to have an issue or handful of issues that you are keeping your eyes on, but to otherwise stay focused on what we need to do to put Democrats back in control of Congress in two years.
💵 Check out our refreshed Electability slates on WomenCount.
📰Analysis & News:
Key actions from Trump’s first day in office. And, insights from the inaugural speech [NPR]
Analysis of Trump Day 1 Executive Orders [National Immigration Law Center]
On day one, Trump pits his administration against transgender people [The 19th News]
Trump signs executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship [Axios]
The Jan. 6 Rioters, 4 Years Later [NYT]
I Was Kamala Harris’ Videographer. The Experience Completely Changed Me. [Slate]
The Big Counties Versus the Rest of the Country in 2024 [Sabato’s Crystal Ball]