2019 was a big year for Republican women. They broke stereotypes, made history, wrote books, championed issues, advanced legislation and more on the national stage. While this is nowhere near an exhaustive list, let’s break down the top 13 biggest moments from GOP women this year.

Kelly Loeffler becomes 8th Republican woman in the Senate this term

Loeffler was appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as the interim replacement for Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat. He resigned this year due to health concerns. Loeffler is the 8th Republican woman in the Senate this term and she plans to run for the seat in 2020. 

Ivanka Trump launches W-GDP to increase women in the workplace worldwide

W-GDP, also known as the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, aims to empower female entrepreneurs and women in the workforce across the world. The initiative has a goal of reaching 50 million women in developing countries by 2025 and is spearheaded personally by White House Senior Advisor, Ivanka Trump. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik launches E-PAC with focus on electing more GOP women

At the beginning of the 116th Congress, Stefanik noticed something glaring — the lack of GOP women in Congress. Stefanik had previously been the recruitment chair for NRCC and recruited over 100 women to run for office in 2018, but unfortunately, only one GOP woman prevailed. This year, Stefanik revamped her E-PAC to help qualified GOP women in their primaries and elevate and amplify GOP women voices. Since, the PAC has endorsed 11 GOP women for Congress in 2020. 

Senators Joni Ernst and Martha McSally come forward with their stories of sexual assault 

In 2019, Senators Ernst and McSally shared their painful pasts. Ernst was privately going through a divorce earlier this year and documents were made public that detailed how she endured emotional and mental abuse in her marriage, forcing her to share her story. She tearfully added in an interview with Bloomberg News that she was raped in college by an ex-friend. Senator Martha McSally bravely shared in March that she was raped by her superior officer while serving in the Air Force.  Their stories give strength and support to survivors of sexual assault and remind us that sexual assault should be a non-partisan issue.

Senators Marsha Blackburn and Joni Ernst become first GOP women to serve on Senate Judiciary Committee

In January 2019, Senators Ernst and Blackburn were appointed to one of the most influential committees and made history by doing so — becoming the first GOP women to serve on the Senate Judiciary committee. 

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley releases new book With All Due Respect and keeps an eye on her future in politics

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley’s name made headlines all throughout 2019, but the release (and subsequent success) of her latest book With All Due Respect tops the charts. A New York Times Bestseller, With All Due Respect recounts details of Haley’s time as Ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration. With her domestic and foreign experience, many have speculated that Haley could pursue higher political office in the coming years — a theory that Haley has not turned down. 2019 was a big year for Haley; we look forward to seeing what 2020 has in store.

View co-host and conservative commentator Meghan McCain opens up about her miscarriage

McCain often faces backlash from her fellow hosts for standing tall in her beliefs and convictions – even if she’s in the minority, but Meghan McCain’s biggest moment was when she opened up about her miscarriage earlier this year. It started a national conversation about miscarriage, a topic that has been considered taboo in the past, and brought comfort and support to other women who have been through the devastating loss of an unborn child. 

Rep. Liz Cheney becomes third most powerful Republican in Congress as House GOP conference chair

As the new term in Congress kicked off in January 2019, Rep. Liz Cheney began in a new role – House GOP Conference Chair. Since her start in the position, she has helped dictate the Republican message across the country through legislation, impeachment, and more, making her an influential leader in the Republican Party. 

Stephanie Grisham becomes White House Press Secretary

In June, Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that she would be stepping down from her position as White House Press Secretary. There was much debate over who would replace her in the powerful role. It was First Lady Melania Trump who broke the news that Stephanie Grisham would be the new White House press secretary. Grisham was previously in a communications role for the First Lady and has been with Trump since the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2015.

RNC breaks fundraising records with Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel at the helm

The RNC fundraising, under the leadership of Chairwoman McDaniel, has exploded in 2019 while standing against impeachment, socialism, and more drove Americans to donate to the Republican Party. The Republican National Committee, in partnership with the Trump campaign, has raised over $300 million this year alone. To put that in perspective, that is more than any other sitting President at this point in their re-election campaign. The GOP currently has $63.2 million cash on hand, the most since 2012. 

Lisa Murkowski secures Senate passage of the biggest land legislation of the decade

In February 2019, Sen. Murkowski helped S.47, a package of over 100 bills, pass the Senate. The bi-partisan legislation adds 1.3 million acres of new wilderness, expands several national parks and creates four new national monuments. It is the largest land legislation of the decade and it passed in the Senate with a final vote of 92-8. Murkowski and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. introduced the bill in January.

Rep. Carol Miller, the only new Republican woman in Congress, commits to helping more Republican women win elections

Representative Carol Miller made waves in 2018 as the only new Republican woman in the 116th Congress. She was the subject of many pieces concerning the pink wave in 2018 that propelled many Democrat women to the Hill, but she settled into her position on the recruitment forefront quickly. It’s clear she wants to pay it forward to the Republican women that come after her. She’s already a member of the House GOP’s whip team and has the full support of President Trump behind her. 

More Republican women than ever are plan to run for office, GOP conservative squad announced

It’s starting to look like the GOP will be having a pink wave of its own in 2020. In August, it was reported that more GOP women than ever are considering a run for office for the first time. This comes after the Democrats’ 2018 pink wave and the GOP’s efforts to elect more GOP women. Republican women across the country are mobilizing, standing up, and speaking out. In fact, in Texas, twice as many Republican women are running for office in 2020 than in 2018. In December, four female congressional candidates launched The Conservative Squad to combat socialism- a counter to the Progressive squad currently in Congress. The conservative squad is made up of  AL-02 candidate Jessica Taylor, MN-07 candidate Michelle Fischbach, SC-01 candidate Nancy Mace, and TX-24 candidate Beth Van Duyne. 

This article is a Special Edition issue of our Conservative Women Weekly series. Never miss a Conservative Women Weekly! Sign up HERE to get it delivered straight to your inbox every week.

Conservative Women Weekly authors Amanda Owens, Jillian Kinder, Karly Matthews, Liana Imparato and Natalia Castro contributed to this article.