The Senate also stands out for another reason. If it were a private club, a member would likely be forced to resign before running for office or face charges of belonging to an exclusive fraternity. Only nine women and not a single black or Latino is at the legislative table when the Senate undertakes such solemn constitutional duties as debating treaties, declaring war, weighing the guilt of an impeached president and approving nominations to the Supreme Court. To put it in perspective, if the Senate were chosen by lottery among all Americans, a quarter of senators likely would be black or Latino, and more than half would be women. Voters in Hawaii, our only non-white majority state, have elected two Japanese American senators.
Women generally lose out, just as they do in most gubernatorial races.
Many rebel against the idea of race or gender being a factor in determining representation. Others argue that black and Latino voters can be influential even when in the minority. In fact, Cochran and Lott recently joined a Senate majority in rejecting the nomination of Judge Ronnie White to the federal judiciary. White, a member of the Missouri Supreme Court, was the first judicial nominee defeated on the Senate floor in more than a decade. He also is black.