The Year of the Woman… Again? Yes, But This Time It’s For Real
12:04 pm in Uncategorized by RH Reality Check
Written by Robin Marty for RH Reality Check. This diary is cross-posted; commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original post.
When 2010 was lauded as the “year of the woman” for political candidates, pundits on both sides of the aisle cheered the fact that more women were running for office than ever before.
There was only one small problem — many of them were running against each other.
At best, women were looking at maintaining status quo, swapping a female incumbent with a female challenger. But the result was a worst-case scenario: Due to primary losses and a Tea Party wave, the country actually ended up with fewer women in Congress than prior to Election Day.
Since then, women have slowly begun to regain ground. With the help of special election wins in New York, California and Oregon, women had regained their numbers.
Now, we are hearing it again. “The 2012 election will be the year of the woman.” But what is different this time?
Stephanie Schriock, President of EMILY’s List, an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office, says this year the difference is the candidates:
