 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| What will we remember when we look back on the 2022 midterm elections? Will Nov. 8, 2022, be the election that the GOP reclaimed the House and Senate or that Democrats fended them off? Nail-biter finishes in state governors races? |
| Republican women candidates hope it's the year they banded together, spread out their campaign cash, and unseated Democratic opponents. |
| But that task involves competing against oftentimes better-funded and better-organized Democratic women groups, USA TODAY political reporters Erin Mansfield and Savannah Kuchar found. |
| Hi, it's Sean Rossman, USA TODAY Politics editor. I sat down with Erin and Savannah, who shared the differences between Republican women candidates and Democratic women candidates, plus which are the races to watch. |
| Here's what they told me: |
| Sean: Republican women and Democratic women are approaching their races much differently. What stood out to you most? |
| Erin: Just like male Democrats this election cycle, Democratic women are putting their abortion rights platform front and center. |
| This is a clear reaction to this summer's Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, but it's also part of the nature of their funding: The main groups that help Democratic women run for office require their endorsees to agree with them on abortion. |
| While many of the Republican women we looked at do say they are anti-abortion on their websites, and in this day and age being anti-abortion is a litmus test to be a Republican, the Republican women are not focusing on that issue at all. They are focusing on Republican talking points like inflation and border security. |
| Savannah: Female candidates in both parties have to contend with gender stereotypes, but it impacts how they're received by voters differently from left to right. |
| There's this idea that women running for office, even as Republicans, will be naturally more liberal. Of course, we're seeing women like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert who have a very conservative reputation, and our experts said these stereotypes may be fading out as Republican candidates today are tending to be more ideologically conservative than in the past. |
| Sean: What is one thing readers should take away from your story? |
| Erin: There are a lot more Democratic women in Congress than Republican women, and there's a lot more of an organized effort out there to elect the Democratic women. At the same time, there are plenty of Republican women out there who want to be in Congress, and they're putting together the infrastructure they need to win those seats. |
| Savannah: Women on both sides of the aisle stand to play a significant role in this year's midterms. Several female candidates are in some of the most competitive races in the country and we already saw in 2020 how they were leading GOP efforts to flip congressional seats. |
| Sean: Knowing what you know, what races will you be paying attention to next week? |
| Erin: For Congress, I'll be watching: Jen Kiggans vs. Rep. Elaine Luria in Virginia Beach because Kiggans could unseat the incumbent. Esther Joy King vs. Eric Sorensen in Illinois because it will be close. Rep. Mayra Flores vs. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in south Texas because not only will it be close, it's a test of Republican strength in the Rio Grande Valley area. Amanda Adkins vs. Rep. Sharice Davids because it will be close, although Davids has a slight edge. |
| Savannah: I'll be very interested to see what happens in Texas 34, with Mayra Flores' race. Her special election was a pretty big upset, and her race is still very much a toss-up that could have implications for the politics of south Texas going forward. |
| 🗳️ Learn more: Read about these races and the efforts to election Republican women. |
Real quick: Stories you'll want to read |
| • | How immigration is influencing voters' choices: Immigration is on the ballot in Pennsylvania and the other dozen or so battleground states where control of Congress will be decided. But it's not so much about seasonal visas or labor shortages. Read more about how a record number of migrants crossings this year may impact the midterm elections next week. | | • | Most Republicans don't trust the midterm count to be fair: With Election Day a week away, almost two-thirds of Republicans aren't prepared to trust the midterm results, saying they worry the vote count could be manipulated. Learn more about the full findings from the latest USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll here. | | • | 🏛️ Latest updates on affirmative action: The Supreme Court's conservative majority signaled skepticism over the use of race-conscious admissions at American colleges in one of the most controversial cases before the court this year. Depending on the scope of the court's ruling, the outcome could have profound implications beyond higher education. | | • | Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene on taxes: Former President Donald Trump on Monday asked the Supreme Court to intervene in his long-running legal battle with the House Ways & Means Committee over access to years' worth of his tax returns. | |
| Charges announced in attack on House Speaker Pelosi's husband: David DePape, who allegedly targeted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a break-in at her San Francisco home, was charged by federal authorities with assault and attempted kidnapping in connection with the violent attack on her husband, leaving him with a fractured skull and other serious injuries. |
| |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment