Anthony Weiner, Eric Massa, Chris Lee, Tim Murphy . . .

Two were Republicans, two were Democrats. What each member of Congress had in common is that he resigned in disgrace following a sex scandal, and the ensuing special election flipped his House seat to the opposing party.

The other commonality, of course: They were all men. Until now, no female member of Congress had accomplished the same feat of giving up a seat to the opposing party because of a sex scandal.

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But former California congresswoman Katie Hill, who resigned after admitting to a sexual relationship with a campaign staffer while denying allegations of a relationship with a congressional staffer, may have just shattered that glass ceiling. 

California is notoriously slow to count votes, but it seems likely that a Republican has won Tuesday’s special election to fill Hill’s seat. “If Mike Garcia (R)’s lead over Christy Smith (D) in #CA25 holds, and chances look pretty good it will, he’ll become the only House Republican from a district Hillary Clinton won with more than 50% of the vote,” writes David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report. 

It’s a win for Republicans, sure, but perhaps an even bigger victory for equality.