A new group of politicians is preparing to take office, and despite calls for more cooperation this session, party differences will likely come into play, notes The Pueblo Chieftain. But the faces articulating the points have changed. For one, there will be more Republican women under the golden dome. Though there are just three women in the Senate GOP caucus this year, that’s “triple the number in recent years,” writes The Denver Post. Jean White of Hayden and Ellen Roberts of Durango join veteran lawmaker Nancy Spence of Centennial in the Senate. “I am just thrilled,” says Spence, the lone Republican woman in the Senate since 2007.

The number of Republican women in the Colorado House is also rebounding after reaching a high of 11 in 2000, then falling to four in subsequent years. Their number has bounced back to nine currently, and three are in leadership roles. Democrats still lead when it comes to counting female state lawmakers: 56 percent of the Democratic caucus is made up of women (70 percent in the Senate), compared with one-quarter for Republicans. One thing that helped boost their numbers in the GOP was White’s successful effort earlier this week in replacing her husband, Senator Al White, in District 8, points out the Post. White, a newbie politico whose husband was recently named Governor-elect John Hickenlooper’s head of tourism, beat out three men for the position—and two other women.