A record number of women are running for the House this year, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
The milestone came Thursday, when Virginia released a list of all the women who have filed to run for the House in the state. That pushed the total number of female congressional candidates for 2018 to 309, topping the previous record of 298 in 2012.
Female candidates are sure to play a key role in upcoming races for the House, where Democrats hope to flip the 23 seats they would need to regain control of the chamber.
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Two women, former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko (R) and physician Hiral Tipirneni (D), are currently locked in a special election battle to represent Arizona’s 8th House District and will face off later next month.
Progressive advocacy groups have pushed to elect more women into office following the momentous Women’s March that swept through Washington last year in response to President Trump’s inauguration.
Groups such as EMILY’s List, a group focused on electing pro-choice Democratic women, has seen record numbers of women interested in starting campaigns this year.
The surge in women running for office has largely been among Democrats so far, according to a recent analysis by the Center for American Women and Politics, outnumbering Republicans nearly three to one.
The number of women running is certain to grow, with filing deadlines still to come in more than 25 states, the AP reports.
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