Women Record Key Wins In Legislature

Anti-Trump Activism Pushes More To Run

Emboldened by a surge of activism in the age of Trump, Democratic women who had never served in office before were behind some of Tuesday's biggest victories in Connecticut.

“What we've seen in Connecticut and across the country were a number of boundary-breaking women who shifted the narrative,'' said Khalilah L. Brown-Dean, associate professor of political science at Quinnipiac University. The significance of these wins is bigger than just their identity. The real gain is what they bring to the table on i ssues like economic development, health care, education, reproductive rights and immigration.”

Across the nation, a record number of women — many of them first-time candidates — sought political office this year. With final tallies still coming in late Tuesday, it appeared that dozens of them had won — from legislative seats to governorships.

There are currently 107 women in Congress – 84 in the House, out of a total of 435 members, and 23 in the Senate, out of 100. Those numbers have steadily increased through the years but they made a major jump on Tuesday.

In Connecticut this year, there were 29 women from both parties running for seats in the state Senate, which currently has nine female members. In the House, there were 103 women candidates and 42 female representatives now serving. Of the four caucuses in the General Assembly, just one, the House Republican caucus, is led by a woman, Rep. Themis Klarides.

Melissa Kane, a Democratic selectwoman in Westport and an activist with the Women's March in Connecticut, said she felt empowered as she watched the results roll in.

“It's incredibly moving to me,'' Kane said. “All this started the day after the inauguration of the man in the White House. We took to the streets, we decided to run and we ran wonderful campaigns. Women heard the message that if we want to change this country, we have to do it.''

Trump's divisive politics, frankly sexist remarks and brash style turned off many women voters and helped lift female candidates, especially Democrats. But other forces, including the #MeToo movement, also played a role. The midterm elections are the first contests since movement began, prompting a national reckoning and a push to change laws regarding sexual harassment and assault. Those efforts fell short in Connecticut last year.

Several of the women predicted their bolstered ranks will have a major influence on public policy. “More women in the Senate makes a big difference,'' said Beth Bye, a longtime Democratic state senator from West Hartford. “Think about women's healthcare in the Senate now with no Michael McLachlan or Len Suzio, and a [Democratic] majority,'' she added, referring to two conservative Republicans who lost.

Christine Cohen, a Democrat who won an open Senate seat on the shoreline, said many issues important to women voters will get a new look by lawmakers next year.

“Those issues may come to the forefront,'' Cohen said. “We'll be talking about protecting a woman's right to chose, and making sure there's never a question about overturning Roe v Wade. And we'll be talking about pay equity and making sure we bring up family and medical leave.''

The blue wave in Connecticut was powered by women candidates. In a realignment of the Connecticut House, Democratic women picked up a number of key seats, from West Hartford, where Jillian Gilchrest defeated a 22-year male incumbent in the Democratic primary in August, to the Naugatuck Valley, where Democrat Kara Rochelle won in a region that's been trending Republican to New Canaan, where Democrat Lucy Dathan unseated Rep. Fred Wilms in a seat long held by the GOP.

In the Senate, union organizer Julie Kushner of Danbury ousted McLachlan, and former teacher Mary Abrams of Meriden toppled Suzio.

“I didn't go into this for any kind of movement,” Abrams said. “It was personal. I grew up in this district, I raised my kids in this district… I didn't do this because I was a woman and I didn't think that it was about my first time running, it was about doing the right thing.”

Several of the other women who won said they will bring a different perspective to a legislative body dominated by men. They pledged to push issues that have long been caught up in a legislative logjam, such as paid family and medical leave, to the front of the agenda.

“There's a clear message that women stand for working families,'' Kushner said. “We want to see a state that responds to working people.”

Kushner said her win and the victories of other Democratic women “signaled a rejection of the national policies of fear and division.''

Sarah Croucher, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, said Trump's victory galvanized women.

“It shows how angry a lot of women in our state are about what's going on in the national level,'' Croucher said. “There was a complacency in Connecticut but in 2016, that changed.''

In the 5th Congressional district, former national Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes won a decisive victory, becoming the first African-American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress.