Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Axios
Axios
Politics
Orion Rummler

Rep. Martha Roby won't seek re-election, as GOP faces dwindling number of women in the House

Rep. Martha Roby at a 2016 news conference. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) announced her impending retirement on Friday, potentially leaving Republicans with as few as 11 women in the House after 2020.

Where it stands: Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) announced her departure from the House in June, and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is mulling a Senate run, per the Post. The current number of female GOP representatives is the lowest it's been since 1993, according to the Brookings Institution.


  • The 8 female GOP senators currently in office are a record-high for Republicans.
  • Democrats are also at all-time highs in Congress, with 17 female senators and 89 representatives.
“Chairman [Tom] Emmer is committed to making the House Republican caucus more diverse. ... We’ve already met with over 200 women considering running for Congress and will continue doing so. We look forward to having many more women as part of our new Republican Majority after the 2020 elections.”
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Chris Pack, in a statement to the Post

Go deeper: Republicans struggle to elect and retain female members of Congress

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.