There are now a record 22 women in the Senate

Former Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith was sworn in to replace Al Franken in the U.S. Senate Wednesday, making her the 22nd woman currently serving in the body. That's a record-breaking number.

The big picture: As recently as 40 years ago, there were zero women in the senate. Minnesota is also now one of four states in the nation that has two female senators. The others are Washington, California and New Hampshire.