Women's Political Successes

A RECORD number of women ran for political office at the federal, state, and local level last fall in the United States. Among their successes:

* Four new women were elected to the US Senate, bringing the number of women senators to a record six.

* Carol Moseley-Braun (D) of Illinois became the first black woman to serve in the US Senate.

* Dianne Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D) of California are the first Senate delegation that is all women.

* Twenty-four women were elected to the House of Representatives in 1992. Women now hold 47 House seats.

* The congressional delegations of Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Nevada are 50 percent women. Connecticut has six House seats total; the other states have two apiece.

* Women hold 20 percent of the seats in state legislatures around the country, up from 18 percent in 1991.

* Three women now serve as governors: Gov. Joan Finney of Kansas, Gov. Ann Richards of Texas, and Gov. Barbara Roberts of Oregon. All are Democrats.