Democrats have been pushing for years to have the District of Columbia officially recognized as the 51st state in America. And on Thursday, they made that happen in a highly partisan vote. The Democrat-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted 216-208 on Thursday to pass a bill that would grant statehood to Washington, D.C. H.R. 51, otherwise known as the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, would give the district two senators and a voting representative in the House.