2018 could be the year 'women turn the tide and transform our country,' Democratic activists say

Year of the woman.
(Image credit: ARMEND NIMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Almost a year to the day after the inaugural Women's March protest, Democratic women are on pace to make record-breaking contributions to midterm races, Bloomberg Politics reports. Democratic female candidates are especially benefiting from the surge, receiving 44.2 percent of their contributions from other women on average in the first three quarters of 2017, the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington found, while a record-breaking 266 Democratic women so far have said they have raised money for House races in 2018.

"Anyone who was committed to Hillary [Clinton] is committed to the bigger picture," explained one major Democratic donor, Susie Tompkins Buell. "These deep dark days have really brought the best out of women."

Trump is thought to have earned 41 percent of the women's vote in 2016, although Quinnipiac found this week that his disapproval rating among women is 63 percent, compared to 57 percent with Americans overall. Emily's List, a national organization committed to electing women, said some 26,000 people have been in touch about getting involved politically in 2018. In 2016, that number was just 920.

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With the second annual Women's March set to take place this weekend, philanthropist and Clinton donor Barbara Lee told Bloomberg that 2018 "has the potential to be the year that women turn the tide and transform our country."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.