Donald Trump backlash inspires record number of women to run for Congress
Number of women who ran in 2016 doubles ahead of November's mid-term elections
The backlash against Donald Trump’s presidency has prompted a record number of women to run for office this year.
More than double the number of women who ran for Congress in 2016 have put their names forward ahead of November's mid-term elections, in which Democrats hope to wrest control of Congress from Trump's Republican party.
“I definitely think Donald Trump in that election was an awakening for us,” said Katie Hill, who is running as a Democrat in a seat held by a Republican for the last 25 years. “I think it made us realise our status in society is more delicate than a lot of us realised.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Now we’ve got this trigger of ‘we can do this’ and ‘we have an obligation to do this’ there’s more of an unwillingness to sit by when we're represented by less than 20% of the people in Congress being women,” she said.
Sky News says the shift “was evident on the day after Mr Trump's inauguration, when the women's march on Washington drew the largest single-day protest crowd in US history”.
The president’s past comments and actions towards women, including multiple allegations of sexual misconduct prompted by the Access Hollywood tape, which surfaced weeks before the 2016 election, have mobilised a campaign that has since been buoyed by the #MeToo movement.
Now it could deliver more women to Congress in a year in which Democrats are hoping to gain a majority in the House of Representatives.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Does Trump have the power to end birthright citizenship?
Today's Big Question He couldn't do so easily, but it may be a battle he considers worth waging
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Elon Musk about to disrupt British politics?
Today's big question Mar-a-Lago talks between billionaire and Nigel Farage prompt calls for change on how political parties are funded
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will California's EV mandate survive Trump, SCOTUS challenge?
Today's Big Question The Golden State's climate goal faces big obstacles
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Underneath the noise, however, there's an existential crisis'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is the United States becoming an oligarchy?
Talking Points How much power do billionaires like Elon Musk really have?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'It's easier to break something than to build it'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden sets new clemency record, hints at more
Speed Read President Joe Biden commuted a record 1,499 sentences and pardoned 39 others convicted of nonviolent crimes
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published