Women poised to lead Democratic return to power in the Senate
Women poised to lead Democratic return to power in the Senate
Five of the seven races where Democrats could take seats from the GOP are being run by women, from Tammy Duckworth in Illinois to Ann Kirkpatrick in Arizona
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Female candidates are leading the push for a Democratic return to power in the Senate as Donald Trumps sagging poll numbers leave the Republican majority under extreme pressure. Tammy Duckworth shows her strength in Senate fight: 'These legs dont buckle'
Even before Trump became the Republican presidential nominee, Democrats had a decent chance of picking up enough seats to wrest the Senate majority from Mitch McConnells hands: they need only four seats if theres a Democratic president, or five if theres not. And in five of the seven states where Democrats have a strong chance of picking up seats, the candidates are women.
There is broad agreement on the states where Democrats have the best chance of picking up seats: Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin and Ohio. In all but the last two, the Democratic candidate is a woman. And in Nevada, minority leader Harry Reid is retiring and Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is neck-and-neck with her Republican opponent, Joe Heck, in the latest poll.
The woman mostly likely heading to the Senate after Novembers election is Illinois congresswoman Tammy Duckworth. Few polls have actually been done in the state that elected Barack Obama president twice and the latest conservative poll shows Duckworth and the incumbent senator, Mark Kirk, in a statistical tie. Kirks been forced to denounce his initial endorsement of Trump but Duckworth thinks that the growing support for Hillary Clinton in the state can work in her favor. In terms of my gender
I dont think its made as big of a difference she said, but it does allow me to connect more with so many more of the female volunteers who are turning up for Hillary, and are there to connect with me. To be on the same ballot with her? she asked rhetorically. Its so historic.
Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emilys List, which promotes and funds pro-choice Democratic candidates including the six women who could help turn the Senate blue again noted that the number of women up for election to Senate seats is no accident of history. Weve been working for 31 years to elect women, she said, noting that when Emilys List was started, there were only two female senators, and both were Republicans. Were planting seeds all the time to build that pipeline of great women to run for office, she added, pointing out that the organization backed Duckworth in her unsuccessful House campaign in 2006 and Cortez Masto in her successful bid for state attorney general before supporting them in their Senate races.
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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/25/senate-women-democrats-majority-power