Women are saving the day for Democrats
Democrats are worried. Democrats are always worried. And Democrats should be worried. Because, as we well know, even though they have an excellent chance of taking back the House and an increasingly good chance of taking back the Senate also, Democrats could still blow it.
But Democrats have every reason to feel good, too — largely because of the excitement, energy and momentum seen among Democrats in special elections and primaries since Donald
Trump was elected. The enthusiasm gap definitely favors Democrats in 2018, and that’s particularly true among women, and especially true among women of color.
According to the Cook Report’s David Wasserman, Americans could elect more than 100 women to the House of Representatives in November, including 30 to 40 more women: more than ever before, and far eclipsing the previous record of 24 women in 1992, which, remember, used to be called the “Year of the Woman.”
There are more candidates overall running for office, and more female candidates, than ever before. And this surge of women is driven entirely by Democrats.
Of 254 non-incumbent Democratic nominees for the House, 50 percent of them are women, compared to only 18 percent of Republican candidates. Today, there are 61 Democratic women serving in the House and 23 Republicans. On Nov. 6, it looks like Democrats will increase their female members by more than a third, while the number of GOP women will shrink by a third.
What’s inspiring Democratic women to run? There’s no doubt about it. While credit for the wave of female candidates in 1992 was attributed to backlash against the appointment of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, the surge of women today was triggered by the election of Trump.
Don’t believe it? Here’s proof. In 2016, a record number of women, 920, signed up with Emily’s List for candidate training. They called it “the Hillary Bump.” Since November 2016, Emily’s List has signed up and trained 40,000 female candidates. Call it “the Trump Bump.” Clearly, Democratic women activists believe the best way to fight back against Trump is to run for office. And Democratic voters believe the best way to send a message to Trump is to send a woman to Congress.
Among those women today are some truly remarkable candidates in almost every state, running for the first time, campaigning as bold progressives, embracing the new Democratic goal of “Medicare for All.” Leading the pack, of course, is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York’s 14th district, who became a real rock-star by defeating powerful, 10-term Congressman Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary. Almost certain to win in November, at 28 she will become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
She’s joined by other history-making candidates, including: Deb Haaland, New Mexico, the first Native-American congresswoman; Ayanna Pressley, the first African-American congresswoman from Massachusetts; Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib, the first Muslim woman to serve in Congress; Gina Ortiz Jones, an Iraq War veteran who would be both the first lesbian and first Filipina-American to represent Texas in the House; Jahana Hayes, honored as the National Teacher of the Year in 2016, expected to become the first African American to serve Connecticut in Congress; and Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia, both running in safe Democratic districts, who would become the first Latinas from Texas in Congress.
Wow! And that doesn’t count the number of female Democratic candidates for governor, either running for the first time or for re-election: Stacey Abrams, Georgia; Gina Raimondo, Rhode Island; Christine Hallquist, Vermont; Kristi Noem, South Dakota; Molly Kelly, New Hampshire; Janet Mills, Maine; Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico; Laura Kelly, Kansas; Kate Brown, Oregon; and Paulette Jordan, Idaho, who would become America’s first Native- American governor.
This is not to ignore outstanding male candidates like Florida’s Andrew
Gillum, Maryland’s Ben Jealous, California’s Gavin Newsom or Colorado’s Jared Polis. But the future of the Democratic Party lies with young, progressive women.
The best way to get back at Trump? Vote for a woman.