Stephanie Rubio
Staff Writer
As the midterm elections approach in November, citizens must vote to select their state representatives for the next two years. Along with these new positions of power, history is in the making due to the high record of women running to be Senator across the nation.
Women make up 22% of all candidates in the run for Senate. This is the highest its been in years, since 1994, when the percentage was 19%. Women are underrepresented on Capitol Hill and 2018 could be marked as a new step for women in leadership positions.
As of now, the Senate has 17 Democrats and 6 Republicans, who are women, holding seats and representing the states. The number will potentially go up in November following the midterm election as all their names will appear on the ballot.
Women representation has been very prevalent in California, as Kamila Harris was sworn into the Senate in 2017 along with Dianne Feinstein.
“Today we are re-dedicating ourselves to fighting for the best of who we are. And there are a lot of people, as a result of this election, that are feeling dispirited at best,” Harris said to the Los Angeles Times. “part of what we have to say is that you are not alone, you matter and we’ve got your back.”
In recent primaries, seven women are running for the spot as US Senator for California. Five of the candidates are Democratic while the remaining two are Republican. It is evident that all women across the board are predominantly democratic.
For the Senate run, there are 47 Democrats and 9 Republicans, as 56 are challenging incumbents. This drastic rise in women representation is due to what news outlets are calling the “Trump Effect”, as well as the #MeToo movement.
“All of these sparks are working in different ways, and one of the giant sparks has been the #MeToo movement,” said former Sen. Barbara Boxer to CBS News. Just as California has been represented by women other states such as Arizona has never had a female Senator.
“I think we need more women in office, for sure,” Martha McSally, a Republican candidate running in November for Arizona told CNN
“I’m the only female veteran Republican in the House. We need to represent the diversity of our country, right? The more women we can have running and winning, the better off we’ll be.”
According to the Washington Post, for every three men in politics, there is one woman. Although big steps are being taken in women representation, there is still a long way to go before equality is reached.
Women are still fighting to be heard in government. Now, they are speaking on issues facing the nation. They believe that the best way to have a seat is to be appointed one.
