Madeline Nicholson

Un undergraduate student studying Anthropology and Race Studies at Colorado College in the United States, currently on exchange in Norway with the University of Oslo.

Ekstern Skribent

There is a collective feeling of déjà vu in America right now. The recent confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after allegations of sexual misconduct are eerily reminiscent of the confirmation of Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991.

1992 was championed as the “Year of Women” after a record breaking number of women were elected Senators in the United States Congress. Despite the meager number of women in the Senate in 1991–only two of the hundred seats– the real catalyst for change was the controversial appointment of Justice Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court after allegations of sexual harassment by law professor Anita Hill, a previous employee of Thomas. The unjust line of questioning and complete besmirchment of Hill’s character during the confirmation hearings were a shameful representation of the rampant misogyny in Congress and the prevalence of patriarchal power in American politics.

The later election of Justice Clarence to the Supreme Court–the top ruling American court–despite the glaring evidence of his sexual misconduct in the workplace, while deplorable served as an important catalyst for change, being cited by many of the five women elected in 1992 as the reason they ran for office.

The Kavanaugh hearing demonstrated that the election of Trump did not serve as the wakeup call we needed, but the empowerment of predators that begets the protection and empowerment of more.

In 2018 if feels as though history is repeating itself. After the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh after allegations of sexual assault by Professor Christine Blasey Ford it is apparent not much has changed in America. In early September of 2018 Professor of Psychology Christine Blasey Ford came forward with allegations of sexual assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, stating that it was her “civic duty to report Brett Kavanaugh”. Following Ford’s public accusations two other women, Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick came forward describing other incidents of sexual assault and rape committed by Kavanaugh in their youth.

On September 27th Professor Ford testified during the Senate Confirmation hearings of then nominee Brett Kavanaugh that he had assaulted her at the age 15, giving powerful testimony recounting with great detail the horrific event and its lifelong impact on Ford. On October 6th, the Senate voted 50 to 48 to appoint Brett Kavanaugh as the ninth Justice on the Supreme Court.

America like Congress was divided, many Americans and politicians came out in support of Ford, others in support of Kavanaugh – devolving the accusations into political theater and the instantiation of party politics. For the past month, the Kavanaugh allegations and surrounding debates about sexual misconduct have dominated the news cycle and political debates. While many hoped after the election of President Trump, who was also accused of sexual misconduct on numerous occasions, that America would be forced to face the ways we have empowered dangerous and misogynistic men, the Kavanaugh hearing demonstrated that the election of Trump did not serve as the wakeup call we needed, but the empowerment of predators that begets the protection and empowerment of more.

The nominations of so many women, particularly women of color, represents a dramatic shift in the American political landscape and provides important hope during these troubling times.

Just like in 1991 America’s women are responding to these gross demonstrations of misogyny in power by running for office, in an effort to take back a Congress that failed to protect Ford and women across America. In the upcoming midterm election cycle there are 262 women on the ballot for the House of Representatives and Senate. An analysis from Politico found that women in the Democratic Party have clinched 180 U.S. House of Representatives nominations this cycle-with 133 Democratic House nominees being women of color, and 158 of the 180 female nominations being first-time candidates.  Of the Democratic female nominees for both the House and Senate 35.5 percent are women of color, according to the Center of American Women and Politics.

Making 2018 an important turning point in American politics, this is the first year in American history when white men are the minority of Democratic congressional nominees. Not only does this mark an important shift for American politics, but from the first “Year of Women” in 1991 which saw only one women of color represented.  It appears that 2018 isn’t just another “Year of Women”, but the “Year of Women of Color”.

This is the first year in American history when white men are the minority of Democratic congressional nominees.

What this means for the midterms

Kavanaugh’s  confirmation is mobilizing Democratic voters and could provide the Democrats the last push they need to win the House. After the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh a Politico survey found that 46 percent of voters said that the Senate “made the wrong decision” in confirming Kavanaugh. More than three in four Democrats (77 percent) say they are “very motivated” to vote in the midterms, compared to 68 percent of Republicans who say the same.

Because of this Republicans will most likely lose control of the House of Representatives as all 435 seats are up for election. Dozens of Republican representatives are retiring and the Democrats only need around 24 more seats to take back control and end the Republican majority in the House, making it possible for Democrats to fiercely oppose a number of President Trump’s key policies. A recent analysis by data journalism and political analysis site fivethirtyeight.com, has forecasting models that give the Democrats a roughly 80 percent chance of taking control of the House and an approximately 30 percent of taking the Senate. If the Democrats win enough seats in the House, it gives them hope for killing the Republican legislative agenda on Capitol Hill, drastically changing the next two years of Trump’s presidency.

Importantly the majority of the Democratic House nominations are women of color, thus if the Democrats win the House, not only will the party be able to counter Trump’s legislative agenda, but women of color will be leading this effort.

Importantly the majority of the Democratic House nominations are women of color, thus if the Democrats win the House, not only will the party be able to counter Trump’s legislative agenda, but women of color will be leading this effort.

Regardless of the outcome of the midterm elections on October 6th the nominations of so many women, particularly women of color, represents a dramatic shift in the American political landscape and provides important hope during these troubling times.

Here are some important women to watch in the upcoming midterms giving us hope.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Puerto-Rican 28-year-old activist from the Bronx, NY, is all but certain to win the congressional seat in the heavily Democratic district. If elected, she’ll be the youngest woman to be elected to Congress. Aside from her age, Ocasio-Cortez has attracted attention for her platform, which she describes as democratic socialism. She has advocated for Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage and housing as a human right, tuition-free public college and trade school, justice system reform, immigration reform, campaign finance reform, and a plan to implement a carbon-free, 100% renewable energy system and a fully modernized electrical grid in the US by 2035 in an effort to combat climate change.

Deb Haaland, the former chairwoman of New Mexico’s Democratic Party and a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, will likely win the race in November and become the first Native American woman to serve in Congress. Haaland’s platform includes advocating for Medicare for All, subsidizing early childhood care and education and protecting and expanding an Obama-era immigration policy that allowed people brought to the United States illegally as children to defer deportation.

“It’s not that native women haven’t tried. Ada Deer tried. Kalyn Free tried. Denise Juneau tried a couple years ago,” Haaland told TIME in June. “I’m not exceptional. I didn’t grow up with privilege. I almost feel like my winning is a shout out to democracy everywhere.”

Gina Ortiz Jones, an Iraq war veteran and intelligence officer, who will become the  first Filipina-American in the U.S. House and the first openly gay woman to represent Texas in Congress, if she wins. Ortiz Jones, the daughter of a single mother who emigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines says that she will fight for Medicare for All and to allow people brought to the U.S. illegally as children to defer deportation.

Rashida Tlaib is running unopposed for the seat to represent Michigan, her platform includes immigration reform, Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage and debt-free higher education. Tlaib is running unopposed meaning that she’ll likely become the first Muslim woman and first Palestinian-American in Congress.

It’s a distinction she could share with Ilhan Omar, who won a Democratic primary for a House seat in Minnesota, if they both win their races and arrive in Washington in January 2019.

Ilhan Omar,who came to the U.S. as a refugee, became the first Somali-American Muslim person to become a legislator when she was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016 as a Democrat. And now, she could become the first Somali-American in Congress.

The gubernatorial races this midterm season are crucial as 36 states will hold elections for governor in 2018. The number of women running for governor in 2018 is groundbreaking, “We haven’t seen this diversity at the gubernatorial level for women before,” said Kelly Dittmar of the Center for American Women and Politics, which has been tracking the number of women running for office in 2018 and cataloguing these notable milestones for female candidates. In 2018 61 women filed to run for governor in comparison to the 6 women who ran in 2016.

Out of a total of 14 women who have won their primary so far, five gubernatorial nominees are women of color. Including Stacey Abrams who gained national prominence this year when she became the first African American woman to win a major party nomination for governor, in Georgia no less. The list also includes Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) in New Mexico, who was the first Latina woman elected to Congress from the state; Paulette Jordan (D) in Idaho, who would become the first Native American governor if elected; Hawaii Republican Andria Tupola, who is of Samoan and Native Hawaiian descent; and Lupe Valdez (D) in Texas, the states first Latina and first openly gay candidate for governor in Texas.

The groundbreaking cohort also includes other notable LGBTQIA candidates, including Christine Hallquist in Vermont (D), who made history as the first transgender person to ever earn a major party nomination for governor, and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D), who was the first LGBTQ person to ever be elected governor and is now running for reelection.

Not only are these exciting landmarks for diversity in the political arena but gubernatorial appointment directly impact Americans daily lives and represent an important place where female candidates can make a difference in local and state politics.

The groundbreaking numbers of women, particularly women of color, in Congressional and gubernatorial races is crucial in deconstructing the longstanding dominance of white men in American politics. While the appointments of sexual predator President Trump and most recently Justice Kavanaugh makes it feel as though little has changed to counter the dominance of patriarchal power in American politics since 1991, hope exists. Their appointments are serving as catalysts for changes, Americans are predicted to vote in groundbreaking numbers for this upcoming midterm election, which typically has a very low voter turnout, around 60 percent. Not only have Trump and Kavanaugh remind Americans they have something to vote, and with the rise of strong female candidates Americans finally have someone to vote for, not just against.

We are beginning to see a shift in American politics, the political mobilization of women no longer excludes of women of color.

We are beginning to see a shift in American politics, the political mobilization of women no longer excludes of women of color. Now in 2018 during this “Second Year of Women” were are seeing women of color taking seats at the table, ready to drown out the voices of power that protect and elect misogynistic white men.