When Annie Andrews launched her longshot South Carolina Senate campaign last May, she introduced herself as a pediatrician and “busy mom” who watched “Bluey” with her children and drove them to dance, Tae Kwon Do and football.

Now the 46-year-old mother of three school-aged children is among a record number of women headed to the next Congress. Her victory over Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was one of several in which Democratic women flipped seats or governor’s mansions with campaigns rooted in parenting and affordability.

At least 159 women will serve in the 120th Congress, according to the Center for American Women and Politics, with Democratic women outnumbering Republicans by roughly five-to-one. Many newly elected Democrats are younger mothers.

Campaign spending reflected the emphasis. Senate, House and gubernatorial campaigns spent a combined $72 million on ads using the words “mom” or “mother” in 2026, according to AdImpact. That was up 50% from 2024 and double the 2022 total.

Rather than foreground the historic nature of their candidacies, many women tied their family experiences to voters’ economic concerns. Texas Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa countered expected attacks that she was “too woke” by saying she would focus on the fact that working people were “too broke.”

Nevada Representative-elect Teresa Benitez-Thompson, who won a heavily Republican district, said she knew the price of gas from driving her children around town. JoAnna Mendoza, who flipped a swing district in the Tucson suburbs, spent the night before Election Day in an emergency room with her 10-year-old son.

“It is important for people to see themselves in their elected leaders,” Mendoza said.

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake said motherhood has increasingly become a political credential rather than something candidates keep out of view. Democratic strategists also said family-focused messaging can help counter voters’ biases against women perceived as cold or too far left.

The approach crosses party lines. Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders highlighted her three children and efforts to cut grocery taxes during her successful reelection campaign.

Still, questions about gender and electability persist ahead of the 2028 presidential race. Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY’s List, said the results showed women were central to Democrats’ path to power and should be embraced as leaders “at all levels of the ballot.”