Election 2020 was yet another for the record books.

Last week, Republicans made good on their promise to narrow their enormous gender gap in Congress and also made progress recruiting and nominating more diverse candidates with less-traditional backgrounds.

A record 31 Republican women have been elected to serve terms in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, surpassing the previous record of 30 set in 2006, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Before Election Day, 22 Republican women were serving in both chambers.

Several incumbent Republicans fought hard to protect their seats in the Senate. In Iowa, Joni Ernst prevailed over Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield.

Newcomers also succeeded. In eastern Iowa, Ashley Hinson, a former state legislator and television reporter, ousted Rep. Abby Finkenauer for a seat in the House of Representatives.  

A record number of women ran for Congress this year, building off the success they had in 2018. According to data tracked by CAWP, 298 women were nominated to run for a seat in the U.S. House, compared with the record of 234 set two years ago. For the Senate, a record 60 women filed to run, though only 20 secured nominations, three short of the previous record set in 2018.

While a record number of Democratic women were nominated to run for House seats this year — 204 nominees compared with 182 in 2018 — only 12 women were nominated for Senate seats compared with 15 two years ago.

Also this year, 96 Democratic women have been elected, according to the latest available results on Thursday. The previous record of 106 was set in 2019.

Women of color in particular also had their moment this election. On Election Day, at least 115 women of color — including a historic 61 Black women, 32 Latinas, and six Native Americans — appeared on ballots across the country.

As election results continued to come in Thursday — with dozens of House races involving women candidates still outstanding — women of color were only one seat shy of matching the 2019 record of 48 women of color serving in Congress at one time, according to CAWP.

New Mexico made history on Election Day by creating the largest all-woman congressional delegation in U.S. history, as well as New Mexico’s first all-female delegation. Moreover, a woman of color was elected in each district.

History was also made in Delaware, where Sarah McBride was elected to the state Senate. McBride is now the first openly transgender state senator in U.S. history, as well as the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in the country.