I started this post three months ago. Now, as we connect with Christine Blasey Ford and face an election in a few short weeks, it is even more relevant.
I've written here about women leading the movement, back on November 19, 2017 and posts about International Women's Day and the Women's March in January, 2017. The Women's March was the inauguration event of the Resistance and of this blog. Today I look at women again.
Women rock!
Here I am to outline some of the up-and-coming women, on the ballot next month. Yes, next month we VOTE! Just 36 days to go.
An influx of women in politics is a huge positive outcome of our difficult times. If you've read this blog for long, you know that I'm always looking for the hope, for the positives, for the heroes and she-roes. There has been more than enough anxiety, fear, and villains that we face on a daily basis since November 8, 2016, but if we don't look for the hope, then we can't work toward the solutions. Women to the rescue!
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| Though it's a suffrage cartoon, I think it speaks for women candidates too! |
It is our time, Women!
Similar to 1992, following the Anita Hill hearings, we are about to enter another Year of the Woman. The number of women in the Senate more than doubled in 1992. Five women -- all Democrats-- were elected to the Senate. California, for the first time in U.S. history, had two women representing the state in the Senate. California has had two women in the Senate ever since.
The number of women in Congress has risen since 1992. Currently, the 115th Senate currently has 23 women: 6 Republicans and 17 Democrats, The 115th House of Representatives has 83 women: 21 Republicans and 62 Democrats. That's all about to change in November. A record number of women are on the ballot from coast to coast, most of them Democrat. And women in record numbers are poised to vote. Progressives are confident that our time has come to steer this country in a different direction.
256 women have won Congressional and Senate primaries across the nation. Not only is this a huge number of women running, but they bring much diversity to our elections: many of them are women of color, women from the LGBTQ community, military members, or immigrants. There are 197 Democrats and 59 Republican woman candidates running; 234 of these women are running for the House and 22 for the Senate. Here is an excellent graphic and searchable database showing all the women running for Congress and for Governor, with projections of the likelihood of their victory.
And this doesn't even touch the races at state and local levels! From school board to Senate, women are taking charge.
This article from the Washington Post is kind of old, from July, but it outlines several up-and-coming women and the viral campaign videos that helped put them in the spotlight. It highlights the incredible 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated a 10-year incumbent in her primary, and who is predicted to win her blue district handily. Incredibly, Cortez also won the primary in a neighboring district with write-in votes! Due to NY state law, she will only be allowed to run for one seat.
Here's a few of the hundreds of women running this November:
Deb Haaland (D), favored to win New Mexico's 1st District. Her opponent is also a woman, Janice Arnold Jones. If Haaland wins, she will be the first Native American woman to win a seat in Congress.
New Mexico's 2nd District will be represented by a woman. It's a toss up between Republican Yvette Herrell and Democrat Xochitl Torres Small. Good stuff.
The move to take over from old white men is strong in Massachusetts, where Dem Ayanna Pressley defeated the old white guy, 10-term incumbent Michael Capuano (D) in the primary and will win in Massachusetts’s 7th District. “Will win” is not hyperbole. Republicans are not running an opponent. She'll be the first black woman to represent Massachusetts in the House.
Rashida Tlaib, running unopposed, is set to represent Michigan's 13th District, vacated by Democrat Rep. John Cronyns Jr., who resigned in shame under allegations of sexual misconduct. She will be the first Muslim American woman in Congress.
....or she'll tie for first Muslim American woman, as Ilhan Omar (D), a Somali immigrant, is favored to win Minnesota's 5th district.
Texas has a couple exciting races. Veronica Escobar (D) is favored to win in Texas's 16th District while Sylvia R. Garcia (D) is favored to win in the 29th District. And Congress may get their first openly lesbian veteran member if Gina Ortiz Jones (D) wins her race for the 23rd District. Her race is a tossup.
Florida's 27th will be continue to be represented by a woman, as the seat is being vacated by Rep. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R). It's a competitive race between Maria Salazar (R) and Donna Shalala (D), a bigwig in the Clinton administration. The polls show a tight race.
Three other Democrat women are in tight races in Florida: Lauren Baer (18th District), Kristen Carlson (15th District), and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (26th District). Watch these races!
And here in California, the 39th District may possibly be represented by an immigrant, Republican Young Kim. She is running to take outgoing GOP Rep. Ed Royce's seat. Her race is a toss-up at this time. Other competitive California races include Diane Harkey (R-49th District), Katie Hill (D-25th District), and Katie Porter (D-45th district).
Arizona will elect its first female Senator. The race is between two women, Kyrsten Sinema (D), who would be the first openly bisexual Senator, and Rep. Martha McSally (R), the country's first woman to fly in combat.
This is all great news. So exciting! I really can't wait for November 6. Women will save us yet.
And you, yes you can and should be part of this historic moment. Register to vote and VOTE on Tuesday, November 6. Go here to register. Check here to make sure that your registration hasn't been purged and to find your polling place. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Encourage them to vote. Offer a ride to the polls to someone who needs one. Vote, vote, vote! It's your right and your responsibility. Every vote counts!
To vote is to Resist!
For more about the history of women in Federal government, I point you to Wikipedia: Women in the U.S. Senate. Women in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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