--- description: She is also the first Republican ever to win the 21st Congressional district title: Elise Stefanik Makes History at Midterms image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84212a5ce7c6c20d/69876432428a9ef357cc4e1f/aptopix-election-hous_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2014 Election](/tag/2014-election/) ## 2014 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Elise Stefanik Becomes the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2014 8:48 AM CUT  Elise Stefanik celebrates her win in the 21st Congressional district on election night at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Elise Stefanik celebrates her win in the 21st Congressional district on election night at the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls, N.Y., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014.Steve Jacobs—AP by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2014 8:48 AM CUT **Correction appended: 5:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 5** Amid all the monumental [victories](http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/GOP-s-Stefanik-tops-Woolf-for-open-US-House-seat-5871307.php "undefined") for the Republicans in the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, which saw the GOP regain control of the Senate, one newcomer made a little bit of history. By defeating Democrat candidate Aaron Woolf in New York’s 21st Congressional District, Elise Stefanik became the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress. The 30-year-old is also the first Republican to win the district for 21 years; the seat was held by Democrat Bill Owens since 2009. “I am honored and humbled to be the youngest woman ever elected to the United States Congress, and to add an additional crack to the glass ceiling for future generations of women here tonight,” said a beaming Stefanik in her [acceptance speech](http://poststar.com/stefanik-acceptance/youtube%5Fdc8053ba-64a9-11e4-b00c-ff3865733c0e.html "undefined") at 10.40 p.m. Stefanik won by a considerable margin, with the Albany _Times-Union_ [reporting](http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Stefanik-with-early-lead-5870674.php "undefined") that she had 63% of the vote with 21% of votes counted and led Woolf by a 2-1 margin for most of the evening. “We are here tonight because you believed that Washington is ready for fresh ideas and a new generation of leadership,” she told her delighted supporters. The record for youngest woman to be elected to U.S. Congress was previously held by 31-year-old Elizabeth Holtzman, a New York Democrat who was elected in 1973. _Correction: A previous version of this story misstated that Stefanik was the first ever Republican to win New York’s 21st Congressional District; she is the first for 21 years. It also misstated that Bill Owens held the seat for 21 years; it was in fact since 2009._ ### Photos: Meet America's 10 Newest Senators  Joni Ernst A Lieutenant Colonel of the Iowa Army National Guard, Ernst has served on the Iowa State Senate since 2004. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  David Perdue A businessman from Macon, Ga., Perdue makes his political debut in the seat of retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss. David Goldman—AP  Tom CottonA U.S. Army Veteran and lawyer, Cotton has served as Representative for Arkansas's 4th district since 2012 and now moves on to the Senate. Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  Cory Gardner Gardner formerly served in the Colorado House of Representatives and U.S. House of Representatives. He beat incumbent Sen. Mark Udall. David Zalubowski—AP  Thom Tillis Tillis is the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and has served there 2006. Davis Turner—Getty Images  Mike Rounds From Huron, S.D., Rounds served as South Dakota governor from 2003 to 2011. Michael Conroy—AP  Shelley Moore Capito The daughter of former West Virginia Gov. Arch Alfred Moore, Jr., Capito has served as a U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 2nd District since 2001. Tyler Evert—AP  Steve DainesA businessman with Procter & Gamble for 13 years, Daines became a member of the House of Representatives in 2013. Michael Albans—AP  James LankfordLankford has served as Representative for Oklahoma's 5th District since 2011. Sue Ogrocki—AP  Ben Sasse The President of Midland University in Fremont, Neb., since 2010, Sasse won the Senate seat vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns. Nati Harnik—AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3558029/elise-stefanik-youngest-woman-congress-new-york-21st/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3558029/elise-stefanik-youngest-woman-congress-new-york-21st/"},"headline":"Elise Stefanik Becomes the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress","datePublished":"2014-11-05T08:48:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:10.089Z","description":"The 30-year-old is also the first Republican to win the 21st Congressional district for 21 years","url":"https://time.com/3558029/elise-stefanik-youngest-woman-congress-new-york-21st/","keywords":["2014 Election","democrat","Republican"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84212a5ce7c6c20d/69876432428a9ef357cc4e1f/aptopix-election-hous_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84212a5ce7c6c20d/69876432428a9ef357cc4e1f/aptopix-election-hous_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"APTOPIX Election House New York","caption":"APTOPIX Election House New York","creditText":"Steve Jacobs—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2014-election/","name":"2014 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3558029/elise-stefanik-youngest-woman-congress-new-york-21st/","name":"Elise Stefanik Becomes the Youngest Woman Ever Elected to Congress"}}]}] ```