A president who has acted and spoken with such vulgar disregard for women and minorities will now deal with more women and minority lawmakers than any of his predecessors did.
Pew Research Center found that a majority of registered voters (60 percent) said they viewed their vote as either a vote for or against the president.
And while we should give ourselves a pat on the back for all of our hard work, clearly there is more work to be done.
We should be excited that Democrats won the House, but angry that so many white women are still voting for sexist and racist Republicans. The reality is that white women contributed to painful Democratic losses: 52 percent of white women voted forRon DeSantis over Andrew Gillum for Florida governor. And 59 percent of white women voted for Ted Cruz over Beto O’Rourke for Texas governor.
Should these numbers really surprise us when over half (53 percent) of white women voted for Trump in 2016?
Democratic Women: We need to start NOW with having conversations with women who voted for Trump and those lawmakers who are like him, and try to understand what motivates them. Only then can we move forward with changing their minds before 2020.
Also, we must continue to fight against all types of voter suppression particularly those who want to keep Latinas, African Americans, Native Americans and young people away from the polls
Women Made History in 2018
Women made history in the midterm elections. Some votes are still trickling in, yet 100 women have been elected to the U.S House; 12 women to the U.S. Senate; and nine women will serve as governor.
Tennessee elected their first woman senator, Marsha Blackburn (R).
Women of Color
There were 43 women of color elected to the House; one to the Senate, and one will serve as governor. Of the 107 women serving in Congress, 38 are women of color. And of the six women who currently serve as governor, one is a woman of color.
Democrats Have More Women than Republicans
There were 103 Democratic women elected; 18 Republican women were elected.
Native American, Latina, Muslim and Lesbian Women
Kansas and New Mexico elected to Congress the first Democratic Native American women. Texas elected the first two Democratic Latinas to Congress. Michigan and Minnesota elected the first two Democratic Muslim American women to Congress. Sharice Davids is not only one of the first Native Americans to serve in Congress but also the first lesbian congresswoman to serve. New Mexico and Maine elected their first Democratic Latina governor. South Dakota elected their first Republican Latina governor.
Women’s Votes
Democrats won women’s vote for Congress by 19 points, with 59 percent voting Democrat and 40 percent voting Republican. In 1982, the last time women voted for Democrats anywhere near that margin, 58 percent of women voted for Democrats, and 41 percent voted for Republican.
Young Women
Young women made their voices heard with two-thirds of voters younger than 30voting for Democrats for Congress, compared with 32 percent who voted for Republicans.
Independent Voters
The midterm election’s swing was, in large part, due to independent women, who voted for Democratic candidates for the House, 56 percent to 39 percent, as well as white women, who have started voting differently in recent years. White women split their vote between Democratic and Republican candidates for the House, but they preferred Republican candidates in 2014 and 2010.
Sexual Harassment
Views of the seriousness of the problem of sexual harassment were closely tied to midterm preferences: 72 percent of those who said it is a very serious problem supported Democratic candidates. Among those who said it was a somewhat serious problem, Republican candidates held a slim edge (50 percent vs. 48 percent). And while relatively few voters said sexual harassment is not a serious problem (11 percent), this group voted overwhelmingly Republican (79 percent vs. 20 percent).
