The Year of the Woman showed up in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.
And in Harrisburg.
In the nation's capital, four women from Southeast Pennsylvania led the charge, including Mary Gay Scanlon from here in the newly constructed 5th District in Delaware County.
Last week there were zero women in the Pennsylvania congressional delegation.
Now there are four.
Joining Scanlon were fellow Democrats Chrissy Houlahan from Chester County, Susan Wild from the Lehigh County, and Madeleine Dean from Montgomery County.
But Scanlon's day was not done after their day of orientation as newly elected members of the House of Representatives.
Scanlon is no longer just the representative-elect from the 5th District.
She is now U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-7.
How's that?
Scanlon was actually running in two races last Tuesday. In addition to the 5th District race, she and her Republican counterpart Pearl Kim also were vying in a special election to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, R-7. Meehan resigned the seat in April amid reports that he used taxpayer funds to settle a harassment suit filed by a former staff member.
The seat has been vacant since, meaning the bulk of Delaware County actually has been without a representative for months.
The 7th District seat gained more than its share of notoriety as Exhibit A in a lawsuit filed against the Congressional maps that were drawn up after the last census in 2010. The state Supreme Court agreed that "Goofy Kicking Donald Duck" - as the 7th was mockingly dubbed - was a prime example of a partisan gerrymander. It did what the Republicans who drew up the new boundaries hoped it would do, take what had been a competitive district and put it solidly into the Republican camp. It's why Meehan routinely cruised to several consecutive re-elections with as much as 60 percent of the vote.
The state high court tossed the map and drew up one of their own. The put all of Delaware County into one district - the 5th - along with a sliver of the Main Line in Montgomery County, and a chunk of Southwest and South Philly.
Scanlon rolled to big wins in both races.
Last night she was sworn in to fill the vacant 7th District seat. It's important because she now holds seniority over every other incoming member of Congress, including her three women counterparts from Southeastern Pa.
It wasn't just Washington where women's voices were being heard.
They made a little history in Harrisburg yesterday as well.
State Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-191, who represents a portion of eastern Delaware County, became the first African-American woman to hold a caucus leadership post after she was tapped by her peers to head the House Democratic Caucus. She has served in the House since 2015.
It wasn't all good news for Delco pols in Harrisburg, however. State Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161 of Nether Providence, came up short in her bid to be minority whip.
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