1of15<b>Themis Klarides, Connecticut - Republican, State House Minority Leader</b>
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"Klarides...was once a 'ring girl' – a position she held while studying for the bar exam. She has also been a model and a body builder. 'I'm highly competitive,' she told the Connecticut Post this year." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less2of15<b>Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut - Democrat, Congresswoman</b>
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"DeLauro is perhaps best known for her unusual sense of style. In any photo of members of Congress, it’s not hard to spot the colorfully dressed, almost hipster-y congresswoman from Connecticut. But the Democrat’s also a fierce liberal and is often a driving force in major policy debates. Today is no exception; she has emerged as perhaps the most vocal liberal critic of President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership, gaining more than 150 signatures to prevent Congress from fast-tracking the deal." - Washington PostBrian A. PoundsShow MoreShow Less3of15<b>Kelly Ayotte, New Hampshire - Republican, Senator</b>
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"The senator from New Hampshire took office in 2011 and could face a tough reelection campaign next year against another woman on this list – Gov. Maggie Hassan (D). But during her time in the Senate, she has become a leading voice for a hawkish GOP foreign policy. She was mentioned by some as a possible vice presidential pick for Mitt Romney in 2012. She probably won’t be a possible pick for the GOP vice presidential spot next year, given her reelection campaign, but if she stays in the Senate, she’ll be in that mix for years to come." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less4of15<b>Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee - Republican, Congresswoman
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"The conservative congressman (the title she prefers) from Tennessee has become one of the most high-profile GOP women in the House. Most recently, you might have seen her debating climate change with TV scientist Bill Nye on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last year. Blackburn often serves as the GOP’s public messenger – especially on social issues. She has even dipped her toe in the presidential waters, speaking at the Iowa Freedom Summit in January. You’ll probably hear her name bandied about as a dark-horse potential vice presidential pick." - Washington PostNew York TimesShow MoreShow Less5of15<b>Saira Blair, West Virginia - Republican, State delegate</b>
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"There are young politicians, and then there is Saira Blair. The Republican was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2014 at the ripe old age of 18, having defeated an incumbent in a primary when she was still just 17 – too young to even vote for herself. A PBS story on Blair notes that she did it in large part by sending 4,000 hand-written notes to voters. But politics are in her blood; her dad serves as the area’s state senator. She’s still a freshman at West Virginia University, by the way." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less6of15<b>Tammy Duckworth, Illinois - Democrat, Congresswoman, Senate candidate</b>
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"Duckworth’s political career started a little slower than she had hoped. She lost a disappointing race for Congress in 2006 – an otherwise good year for Democrats. She eventually won a seat in 2012, though, and now she’s running against Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) in a marquee 2016 Senate race. The first thing you’ll hear about Duckworth in any profile of her is that she’s a double amputee and Iraq war veteran who flew helicopter missions. She is also trying to become the second Asian American female U.S. senator." - Washington PostAPShow MoreShow Less7of15<b>Joni Ernst, Iowa - Republican, Senator</b>
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"Arguably nobody was the face of GOP gains in the 2014 election as much as Ernst – a state senator who cruised to victory in her party’s primary and then beat a sitting House member to win a seat in the U.S. Senate. Ernst’s military service and campaign ad using pig castration as a not-so-subtle metaphor went over big in Iowa and made her a high-profile Republican woman on Capitol Hill. And given Iowa’s importance in the presidential primary process in 2016, expect plenty of Republicans to line up for Ernst’s support." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less8of15<b>Tulsi Gabbard, Hawaii - Democrat, Congresswoman</b>
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"The Hawaii Democrat is Congress’s first Hindu and first American Samoan and is a combat veteran of the Iraq war. She’s also one of the youngest members, at 34, and has quickly asserted a sizable profile. She serves as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee but has also been critical of the Obama administration for declining to refer to Muslim extremists by their religion. Elected to the state House at 21, Gabbard declined to run for a second term because of her service in Iraq." - Washington PostAssociated PressShow MoreShow Less9of15<b>Nikki Haley, South Carolina - Republican, Governor</b>
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"Haley in 2010 won election as the first non-white female governor in the South. She also did so at the relatively young age of 38 and having defeated three better-known white men in the Republican primary (thanks in part to support from the tea party and Mitt Romney). Her tenure hasn’t always gone smoothly – there’ve been regular battles with the speaker of the state House -- but she won reelection in 2014 with ease." - Washington PostAPShow MoreShow Less10of15<b>Kamala Harris, California - Democrat, State attorney general, Senate candidate</b>
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"The California attorney general is perhaps best known nationally for a careless joke President Obama made about her appearance. That could change very soon, with her emerging as the clear early favorite for the seat of retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). The biracial daughter of a Jamaican American father and an Indian American mother, she would be just the second African American woman and second Asian American woman to become senator. If and when she arrives in Washington, she’ll immediately be a high-profile new senator, and it’ll be hard not to talk about her as a future president. But she has also been mentioned for another huge post: Supreme Court justice." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less11of15<b>Maggie Hassan, New Hampshire - Democrat, Governor, potential Senate candidate</b>
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"he New Hampshire governor hasn’t carved out much of a national profile, but that could change this year. The popular Democratic two-term incumbent (governors serve two-year terms in the Granite State) is considering challenging Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) in 2016. It would set up a rare matchup between an incumbent senator and an incumbent governor – not to mention the rare matchup between two such high-profile women, and popular ones at that. A February poll showed 55 percent of voters approved of Hassan’s job performance, compared with 25 percent who disapproved." - Washington PostAPShow MoreShow Less12of15<b>Jaime Herrera Beutler, Washington - Republican, Congresswoman</b>
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"The second-youngest woman in Congress, the Republican entered office 2011. She previously served as an aide to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and in the state House. After winning her seat in Congress, she announced in 2013 that she was pregnant. Her baby was diagnosed with Potter’s syndrome after doctors discovered that her kidneys were not developing. The condition is almost always fatal. The baby survived, though, in thanks in large part to an experimental medical procedure that could be used in the future to treat the disease." - Washington PostShow MoreShow Less13of15<b>Valerie Jarrett - White House Senior Adviser</b>
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"Apart from his wife, no woman is closer to President Obama than Jarrett, who serves as his senior adviser. She initially met Michelle Obama, then Robinson, while serving in Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s administration. Jarrett has been close to the president’s political rise ever since. Born to African American parents living in Iran, Jarrett has been called the 'Obama whisperer,' and her influence in the White House is as wide-ranging as it is lengthy; she has served since Day One of the Obama administration." - Washington PostGetty ImagesShow MoreShow Less14of15<b>Mia Love, Utah - Republican, Congresswoman</b>
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"The Utah Republican congresswoman was elected last year with much pomp and circumstance – albeit two years later than she had hoped. After losing a disappointing 2012 bid to Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Love won an open seat in 2014 and became the first black Republican woman in Congress. The party hopes the daughter of Haitian immigrants will quickly became a new face for their party, and she spoke at its 2012 convention. But for now, she’s been relatively low-profile, opting to build her record rather than dominate the airwaves. That time will come, though." - Washington PostAssociated PressShow MoreShow Less15of15<b>Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota - Democrat, Senator</b>
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"The two-term Democratic senator might not be a household name outside of Minnesota, but she has quickly become a well-regarded lawmaker with a bright future. The bespectacled, bookish senator might not look the part, but some are even talking about her running for president. To that end, Klobuchar has been making herself known across the border in Iowa. And while she’s not running this time, she’s just 54 years old and in a relatively safe Senate seat, she should be around for a while." - Washington PostAssociated PressShow MoreShow Less
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro this morning were named to the list of “40 Most-Interesting Women in Politics” by the Washington Post’s “The Fix” column.
“The Fix” writer, Aaron Blake, says the list “tries to get beyond just the senators and members of Congress you all know to highlight some lesser-known women who serve as top political staff members, in state legislatures and even at the municipal level. The list is based on nominations from women’s groups, social media and some smart political types we asked.”
“When Linda McMahon ran for U.S. Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, the political world collided with professional wrestling. Republican Klarides, who is the state House minority leader in the same state, also has ties to the McMahons’ WWE – but in a far different capacity than the owners. Klarides, you see, was once a “ring girl” – a position she held while studying for the bar exam. She has also been a model and a body builder. “I’m highly competitive,” she told the Connecticut Post this year. “So to put myself into competitive situations purposefully just asks for trouble because I’m such a perfectionist.”
DeLauro was singled out, not just for her achievements, but also for her unique fashion sense.
The first 20 women on the list were released today; the following 10 will be released Tuesday and the last 10 on Wednesday.
