There was no indication of the date the photo was taken but I'm guessing it was during the 2008 campaign. Since then Kristen Gillibrand replaced Hillary Clinton (when the latter was named Secretary of State), Kay Hagan was elected to represent North Carolina, Jeanne Shaheen was elected in New Hampshire, and Blanche Lincoln lost her bid for re-election in 2010.
This year six of those women are up for re-election and an additional 5 are running. Senator Gillibrand put together this helpful graphic on the importance women candidates will play in Democrats holding/building their majority in the Senate this year.
Looking at the polling aggregates, it seems as though the 6 women running for re-election have a good chance of winning.
When it comes of the 5 newcomers, Mazie Hirono is a pretty sure thing in Hawaii, Elizabeth Warren is looking good in Massachusetts, and Tammy Baldwin has the edge in Wisconsin. Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota and Shelley Berkley in Nevada are running behind - but not out of it yet.
What that looks like overall is that we are very likely to go from 12 Democratic women in the Senate to at least 15. And there's a possibility it could be up to 17. That's way short of parity. But we'll keep working on that (also on more women of color).
One of the major embarrassments in this country is how few women we have representing us at the Federal level. It takes far too long to move the needle. Glad these new women stepped up to take the chance.
ReplyDeleteFeinstein, Feinstein. SP, you may want to throw me off a roof for it, but Feinstein is likely to not get my vote. Were the race close, I'd give her my vote. There is basically no discussion of this race here in CA, because Feinstein is in without a problem. She is better than a Republican. That's the best I can say for her.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I think of Dianne Feinstein, I get sad wishing that Harvey Milk had lived. "All the us-es." What a beautiful idea.
You likely know this but will likely love to hear it again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzQ3NFXwpV8
There are a couple of women up there that I'd have to hold my nose to vote for - Feinstein being one of them. And I'd likely only do it if the race was close - like in Missouri. Actually, I'm not all that thrilled with Klobuchar. She's ok, but not a stand-out.
DeleteI actually think the 3 new women - Hirono, Warren, and Baldwin - might shake this group of women up a bit.