Women Are Making Waves In the #MeToo Midterms

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Women may finally get their revenge on serial sex offender Donald Trump and his GOP enablers in Congress. From all reports it appears that the 2018 midterm elections will be a Big Blue Wave fueled by the energy of women and the ‘Me Too” movement.

Just last week we reported that there are over 100 women candidates this year for the U.S. House of Representatives, and most of them are Democrats.

Women started with the Women’s March after Trump’s election, and since then they have continued to be energized by the “Me Too” movement. Women voters generally do not like Donald Trump at all, and they are likely to express their disgust with the president at the ballot box in November.

Many college-educated women have historically voted for Republican candidates for Congress but that appears to be changing this year. In fact over 20 congressional districts went for Hillary Clinton, but also elected GOP House members. Those districts appear ready to swing back to the blue column this year.

Educated women historically comprise a voting bloc most likely to turn out and vote in midterm elections. This group is expected to play an especially important role this year due to many factors in addition to their unhappiness with the president.

For example, many voters in this group are pro-choice and believe in reproductive rights, and are not happy with Republicans for putting on the Supreme Court old white men who want to take away women’s right to have abortions.

The political climate has also changed because of the #MeToo movement and a series of highly publicized sexual harassment charges against famous men.

“This is the year of the fired up, female college graduate. They are the fuel for this Democratic wave,” David Wasserman, House editor of the Cook Political Report said. “They have a history of turning out in large numbers in midterms. But now, they’re even more motivated.”

“That dynamic is a big reason why Republicans are headed for losses.”

Experts say that the factors mobilizing women to vote are also inspiring women to run for political office in record numbers.

“When something like the election of Donald Trump happens — and subsequently everything we’ve seen in office — you really see what happens when there are people who don’t look like you in office,” said one Democratic operative. “That’s why so many women have stepped up to run. They realize, ‘No one is going to fight for me or the people like me, so I am going to step up and do it myself.’ ”

Susan J. Carroll, professor of political science and women’s and gender studies at Rutgers University said college-educated women are the key to the 2018 midterms:

“Normally, this demographic is pretty evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But recent polls show they are moving in a very Democratic direction. If there is a wave, these women will be a big part of the story.”

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.