WOMEN TAKE COMMAND IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS
“1992 - Year of the Woman,
2006 - Beginning of New Women’s Political Movement”
Nancy Pelosi Poised to Become First Female Speaker, the Closest a Woman Has Come to the Oval Office
New York, NY (November 8, 2006)----Yesterday women took command in the midterm elections and proved that they are more ready than ever to be political leaders. Voters across the country agreed, as women finished strong and scored several firsts. The Democrats took control of the house, and as a result, Nancy Pelosi is poised to become the first ever female Speaker of the House. This would be the closest a woman has ever come to the Oval Office, as her new seat is second in the line of succession to the presidency. Wins from Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota helped tip women’s representation in the Senate to an all-time high of 16. Klobuchar also became a first—the first woman senator of her state. Minnesota also gained its first Latina State Senator, Patricia Torres Ray. Incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton, a probable ’08 presidential contender, had a sweeping victory over her opponent John Spencer. Sarah Paulin of Alaska will join the ranks of women governors, pushing that number back up to its high of 9.
Marie Wilson, President of The White House Project and leading women’s advocate, thinks that this is a positive indicator of things to come. Wilson says, “1992 was the year of the woman, but 2006 is the beginning of the new women’s political movement. There’s greater acceptance of women as leaders in politics than ever before, and I think that this could be a predictor of gains to come for women on the road to the White House in 2008.”
The White House Project trained 450 women to run for office this year, and during this election cycle more than 50 of these women ran for seats from City Council to State Legislature and U.S. Representative. We are flooding the pipeline with new women leaders who have been trained to speak with authority on security issues, which proved to be an issue top-of-mind to voters.
Exit polls showed that voters made decisions based on national issues more so than local, and said that ethics and the Iraq war were their strongest motivators. Women candidates, who have largely stayed above the fray of Washington scandal, and were disproportionately Democratic, were seen as a strong alternative to the status quo.
Women voters, in particular, were the deciding factor in several key races, providing the margin of victory for McCaskill in Missouri. The Allen/Webb race for a Virginia Senate seat, though still undecided, was expected to be largely determined by women and minority voters.
Wilson is available for comment today on the influence of women in the midterms, and what their victories will mean moving forward. Wilson is founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work ® Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World (Viking 2004). Wilson has been profiled in The New York Times “Public Lives” column, has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, National Public Radio and other national programs and is quoted widely for her expertise.
About The White House Project:
The White House Project, a national, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) organization, works to advance a richly diverse, critical mass of women into leadership positions, up to and including the U.S. Presidency. www.thewhitehouseproject.org.
