THE YEAR OF THE WOMAN
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON LEVEL21 IN 2018
Women candidates made significant gains in the midterms at every level of government. Nine women were elected governor in the 2018 elections, matching the highest number of women to serve as governor simultaneously in 2004 and 2007, according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). Sixteen women, including four incumbents, ran for governor in the 2018 general elections. Though dubbed the "Year Of The Woman," some female candidates were inevitably defeated, but that doesn't mean they lost hope. These Are All The Women Elected To Congress In 2018.
The number of black women who won in 2018, and the even more significant number of black women who ran, shows that black women are converting electoral power into political power with voters' support. The black women who won and ran in 2018 spoke about expanding access to health care and improving public education but didn't shy away from frank discussions of race, which respond to the needs and concerns of black voters. On election night, a remarkable victory for black women judges was made in Texas. All 19 Harris County candidates won their elections and their wins. The Harris County candidates' wins could improve the more significant representation of women of color in judicial seats.
The 2018 midterms were the first national referendum on the patriarchy that has existed for so long in this country, of which Trump holds the most power. This means that, including the ongoing national reckoning around the Kavanaugh Hearing & the #MeToo movement and a primarily white, cishet male power and privilege structure that protects perpetrators, there will finally be more representation in Congress to check Trump's Cabinet and Kavanaugh were confirmed & that decision was in the hands of the primarily Republican Judiciary Committee, which are mostly. White, cishet male figures, And on Election Day, most American voters delivered their assessment of that decision and elected the most diverse and female Congress in American history. The vote Tuesday rejected the patriarchy that allows perpetrators not to be held accountable for their actions. The midterm outcome came with an inspiring message: women will lead us into the future, and we aren't going to wait for permission. This last year, women have been stepping forward to tell their truths, to run for office, and to win. Women have stood up to the misogyny, bigotry, and discord Trump's presidential leadership encouraged. Election Day showed that women wouldn't just reject the racist and misogynistic rhetoric accepted in Trump's Presidency.
According to The Hill, the average age of Congress will now be a DECADE younger and the most racially diverse in the history of the United States and include more female lawmakers than ever before.
Many Democratic candidates made history during Tuesday's midterm elections, but the United States has a long way to go to achieve equal gender representation in politics. Election night results will push the number of women higher than ever before. Democratic victories were among the most significant broken among female candidates.
Some 'Firsts' for women were:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in New York.
Lou Leon Guerrero became the First woman governor of Guam.
Share David and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women elected to Congress.
Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes were elected as the first black women to represent Massachusetts and Connecticut, respectively, in Congress.
Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to federal office.
Kyrsten Sinema makes history as the first bisexual member of the U.S. Senate.
The 2018 midterm elections were a victory for the Democratic Party.. 2018 marked the first time in United States history that the American people elected over 100 women to the House of Representatives. I only hope that women, women of color, and individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ are looking toward 2020 with clear eyes and full hearts.
