[Note: As I watched the returns last Tuesday night, several strong impressions washed over me. The first was an enormous sense of relief that big money was not able to buy this election. Said David Espo of AP, “Obama captured
Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Colorado, seven of
the nine [probably eight of nine if
Florida goes Obama and it did– my insertion] states where the rivals and their allies
poured nearly $1 billion…” Romney won North Carolina. There is more to be said about this, later.
The second realization was how well women running for office did, especially those who had been targeted by Republican Super Pacs, and in whom my hope had wavered in the waning days of the campaign. I have Republican women friends who were dismayed by the outcome of the election, but I suspect they and their husbands are just now beginning to grasp the consequences of being associated with a party that so many women rejected.
When I received the following note from Kirsten Gillibrand, junior Senator from the State of New York, she invited me to share it with friends. She puts names and numbers with the role women and the electorate played in this election. "This is," as she concludes, "what history looks like."]
by Kirsten
Gillibrand | November 09, 2012
This week saw
a historic election for women, both on the ballot and at the ballot box. Women
knew what was at stake and showed up at the polls in 2008-level numbers, making
up 53% of the electorate. Not only were women decisive in re-electing
President Obama to a second term, but they helped usher in a record number of
women into the halls of Congress.
In 2012, a
record number of women were off the sidelines and running for Congress. 184
women were on the ballot on Tuesday and it's looking likely that we'll
see women's representation in Congress rise from under 17% to almost 19% with a
record 81
women elected to the House (and counting) and 20
elected to the U.S. Senate.
Included in
that group are Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, who will be the first Asian-American
woman -- and the first Buddhist -- Senator. We'll also have Tammy Baldwin, the
U.S. Senate's first openly gay member. And it's worth noting that Hirono in
Hawaii, Baldwin in Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts and Heidi
Heitkamp in North Dakota are all the first women to serve in the U.S. Senate
from their respective states.
This wave of
women was disproportionately Democratic, powered by an electorate galvanized
behind President Obama (women
supported him 55%-44%) and Democratic Senate candidates in support of the
expansion of economic opportunity for women as well as access to health care
and trust in women to make their own health decisions. Single
women in particular turned out for Democrats, making up 23% of the
electorate (up from 20% in 2008,) 67% of whom voted for President Obama.
When I
started Off The Sidelines to
encourage women to make their voices heard in their communities and participate
in politics, whether by voting or running for office themselves, one of the
goals was to increase the number of women in elected office. More women means
more diverse views that represent a wider swath of the electorate. Women bring
different experiences and perspectives to bear on decision making, so I truly
believe that as more women are elected, the better the outcomes will be for
everyone.
To that end,
I was proud to be able to help raise more than $1 million for women candidates
all over the country this cycle, including many who won including our 4 new
female Democratic Senators elect, House candidates and Iraq War veterans Tulsi
Gabbard in Hawaii and Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, as well as New York's first
female Asian-American member of the House, Grace Meng.
But I'm also
so impressed and proud of the women who didn't win this time. Running for
office isn't easy but I believe it's essential that more women -- win or lose
-- get off the sidelines and get in that ring. I was heartened that in three
states, including in my own race, women were the nominees for Senate of both
parties. The more women that run for office today, will inspire more of our
young women and girls to do so in the future so we can one day get to 51%
representation.
And maybe
we'll even see more states like New Hampshire, which, on Tuesday, became the first
state to elect an all women Congressional delegation along with
Governor-elect Maggie Hassan!
This is what
history looks like.
[Or, as Bob Dylan once wrote, "The times they are a-changin'"!
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.
- Milo
