Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden on their resounding victory Tuesday night.

And congratulations to the eight WomenCount-endorsed candidates who clinched wins in their House and Senate races:

Kay Hagan (NC Senate)
Jeanne Shaheen (NH Senate)
Mary Landrieu (La Senate)
Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz, 8th district)
Kirsten Gillibrand (NY, 20th district)
Suzanne Kosmas (Fla, 24th district)
Betsy Markey (Colo, 4th district)
Dina Titus (Nev, 3rd district)

Two more races – in Washington state and Ohio – are still too close to call. Click here to read all the details about our candidates and their races.

Overall, the total number of women in Congress went in the right direction on Election Day – from 16 to 17 percent. But it still falls far short of reflecting the 51 percent of the population who are women. Which means we have work to do.

Women were at the center of the conversation in this presidential election for so many reasons:

1. Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin ran historic campaigns;
2. Women were wooed by both sides as the swing voters in this race;
3. Women are the backbone of our economy, the issue overwhelmingly cited as the priority among Americans.

If you haven’t already, join our call to make sure women stay front and center in the national political conversation – especially now that the election has ended. Sign our petition calling on President-elect Obama to create a Presidential Commission on Women in his first 100 days, just as JFK did in 1961.

It’s our time.

Warmly,
The WomenCount Team