Before Tuesdays election results became known, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she believed she would be the best candidate for Speaker of the House if Democrats were to win a majority of seats.
And I say that unabashedly because I want women not to ever be afraid to talk about why they think they would be the best, she said to the NewsHours Judy Woodruff.
As the Republican punching bag for all thats wrong in the world, Pelosi must have skin as thick as a rhinoceros.
Come January, more women will join Pelosi in Congress, going from 84 to 95, the majority of whom are Democrat. Whats even more significant, is that twice as many women ran for Congress this year as compared to 2016.
The #MeToo movement and objection to President Donald Trumps sexism helped spur many women to run for office, and, by evidence of their success, voters as well.
Increasingly, women, especially those 30 and younger and who live in urban areas, are voting Democratic. In the races for Congress, women cast more votes for Democratic candidates than did men, by a difference of 59 percent to 40 percent, resulting in a gain of 27 seats.
Are women turning blue? Only if viewed nationwide.
Break the numbers down by region, however, and just slightly more women than men voted for Democratic candidates in the Midwest and Southeast.
Remove the gender factor and you see that a large majority of those 27 seats represented urban areas.
Thats why in the 2016 election Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost 2 million, but lost the electoral college, the body that ultimately decides who becomes president.
Whats going on?
We are becoming a land of two countries, where rural and small-town America is becoming decidedly more Republican and the Republican Party, in response, is tailoring itself to a demographic that is older, less educated, and predominantly white.
That not only does not bode well for the Republican Party, but also for those of us who want to live in a less-polarized climate.
Sharice Davids was elected Tuesday to represent Kansass 3rd Congressional District. Not only is she a woman, but also a lesbian of Native American ancestry.
Id like to think that her opinions on health care, the environment and the budget would allow Ms. Davids as much a chance to be elected here as in Kansas City.
