The post Podcast: 2018 Midterm Election first appeared on 91����.

Elrich prevailed with , and Floreen garnered 19 percent, in unofficial results. As Maryland’s most populous county, Montgomery is overwhelmingly blue. Republican Robin Ficker, who has run for public office and lost every time since 1978, captured 16 percent of the vote.

Floreen’s bipartisan support 

Floreen and her supporters gathered in the Matchbox restaurant in Rockville to await results, and by 9 p.m. the dining room and terrace were packed tightly. Supporters shared their opinions on Floreen’s merit. “She’s a consensus builder,” said Steve Simon, a public relations consultant and Floreen campaign volunteer. “People work well with her.”

Although Simon is a registered Democrat, he said he felt strongly that Floreen was the right choice for county executive.

“I vote my mind,” Simon said.

For supporter Ellie Giles, Floreen edges out Elrich on economic, infrastructure, housing and development issues. Giles, who works in workforce development in Montgomery County, said she also typically votes blue.

“I’m not wedded to it,” Giles said of the Democratic Party. “When you have a good candidate, you go with the good candidate.”

Steven Goewy, a registered Republican, also turned to Floreen for the county executive election.

“This is the first Democrat I’ve ever campaigned for,” Goewy said, “She seems to be a very practical, moderate person.”

Floreen said she felt “terrific” going into the night.

“I have had the time of my life. The best opportunity I’ve ever had to speak the truth, to do the right thing,” she said, nodding to her support staff. “I feel that we in this county are blessed by having such great people,”

Leaving the Party

Floreen broke away from the Democratic Party in July.

“I wish I hadn’t had to do it,” Floreen said on her decision to run as an Independent.

“You know, for me it wasn’t that hard. My community has always come first. It’s not that I’m not basically a Democrat at heart, or that I’ve abandoned any Democratic values…”

Simon admitted the campaign faced occasional backlash for the move.

For many people in the county, he said, participating in the Democratic “blue wave” is a must, regardless of the office.

Simon wasn’t worried that Floreen’s change of party would split the vote and tip the odds in Ficker’s favor. The Independents and Republicans put together don’t equal the number of Democrats in the county, he said.

“We look at it mathematically and we don’t think it’s possible,” he said. “…Actually, I think it’s been a great election. The county’s never been able to give all voters a really good choice.”

Local politics matter

Simon said he wished more people would pay attention to local races. They get caught up in the national races and don’t do their research on county candidates.

“I think if you look at your county and state issues, you realize that most of your life is more impacted at what happens at these levels,” Simon said.

Floreen ended the night with her team by her side, wishing opponent Marc Elrich the best.

“I want to thank again all of you who contributed to making this a great experience for so many residents to engage and make our community better,” Floreen said.

“Let’s go forward.”

The post Democrat Elrich wins handily over Floreen first appeared on 91����.

Councilmembers at-large Anita Bonds (D) and Silverman (I) retained their Council seats with 44 percent and 27 percent of the vote, respectively, while Reeder reeled in 14 percent, according to .

“This was a wild race, right?” Reeder said in her concession speech Tuesday night at Ivy City Smokehouse in Northeast Washington.

Reeder thanked a crowded room of volunteers, friends and supporters — many wearing pink “Dionne for D.C.” shirts — in her concession speech. Cora Masters Barry, the wife of the late Marion Barry, received a special thank you as did , to whom Reeder said, “I don’t care what they say about you, brother, thank you.”

Reeder choked back tears when it came time to thank Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was not in attendance.

“What mayor — who was going to win — endorses a person that never ran?” Reeder said. “She didn’t expect me to be a rubber stamp, she expected me to be who I am. Madame Muriel Bowser, thank you.”

Michael Haresign, a bartender who helped organize restaurant workers for Reeder, joined scores of Reeder supporters at Ivy City Smokehouse.

“It was an uphill battle,” Haresign said after word of Reeder’s loss had reached him.

Reeder’s campaign gained traction in September after she was endorsed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, who won reelection easily on Tuesday. Bowser and the business community initially threw their support behind S. Kathryn Allen before she was when the Board of Elections found fraudulent signatures on Allen’s candidate petition.

Bowser’s endorsement, and Reeder’s subsequent boost in campaign contributions, launched Reeder into a heated, sometimes ugly race with Silverman for the second at-large seat on the D.C. Council.

The paid family leave law that Silverman co-wrote in 2016 became the most important issue in the race. Reeder criticized the law because it is paid for with a on employers. She said residents of Maryland and Virginia, who work in the District, could then have paid time off without having paid into the program, Reeder said.

Silverman said the structure of the law is a result of the ’s ban on a commuter tax.

“Anyone who says they don’t support this current form of paid leave doesn’t support paid leave,” Silverman said at a

Reeder owns Cheers at the Big Chair, a restaurant in Anacostia, and said the payroll tax would hurt her business. “I’m not going to be able to function in Ward 8 where there’s ,” Reeder said at the September candidate’s forum.

An intense race that centered around paid family leave ensued. Unions backing Silverman set up black yard signs that read “Save paid family leave, don’t vote for Dionne Reeder.” Reeder condemned Silverman for not being Washington-focused, pointing out that .

Newly elected ANC Commissioner Delia Houseal said at the Reeder watch party that she wanted both Reeder and Silverman to win. Houseal used to work with Reeder at the , an organization that helps young parents raise successful children.

Houseal said Silverman is an activist on the D.C. Council who works on behalf of lower income communities. Reeder and Silverman would work well together in that respect, Houseal said.

“[Reeder] has a sense of what marginalized communities need,” Houseal said. “And she would bring that independent thought to the council.”

Cheers of “run again!” and “run for mayor!” rang through Ivy City Smokehouse during Reeder’s heartfelt, optimistic concession speech. Reeder called for the need to “heal the city” after tinged the late stages of the at-large race.

“I want people to understand that this stuff is serious,” Reeder said about the animosity. “We have to start loving on each other and provide real pathways for people to be successful.”

As for Reeder’s political ambitions, she said it is too soon to start thinking about another run for office.

“God told me to run now, he didn’t say run tomorrow.”

The post Dionne Reeder loses DC Council race despite mayor’s support first appeared on 91����.

Comstock was seeking her third term in the House. In unofficial results, , while Comstock earned 43. 8 percent.

During her concession speech in Ashburn following the election results, Comstock said her work will continue.

“Success is never final; failure is never failed,” Comstock said. “It’s the courage to continue that counts.”

Comstock said successes like the Republicans’ will continue to serve communities. The child tax credit is a part of the passed in December 2017, which Comstock supported and said is the reason the economy is booming.

“Our common sense conservative values we will continue to fight for,” she said. “And we’ll continue to get all of these great successes for years to come.”

Celia Meyer, a 28-year-old Ashburn resident, said the economy is the reason why she voted for Comstock because she feels it has been doing “extremely well since the tax bill.”

“Due to the tax bill, now, next year we’ll be able to qualify for it” (the child tax credit), Meyer said. “I’m extremely happy about that, and I just want to see the economy keep growing.”

Meyer said the results in the 10th District had less to do with Comstock and more to do with President Donald Trump and his personality.

“It’s a referendum on Donald Trump,” Meyer said. “No one in this area likes him.”

Meyer said she feels Comstock has proven herself from a policy standpoint, and her opponent Wexton has done nothing in the Virginia state senate.

Bill Wilkin, 67, a high school history teacher in Ashburn, said he is a strong supporter who admires Comstock. Wilkin said he feels Trump’s shadow is “clearly” why Comstock lost. He said Comstock has consistently spoken against Trump’s offensive tweets and executive orders.

“For Jennifer Wexton to claim that Barbara was ‘Trumpstock’ was a blatant lie,” Wilkin said. “She knows that Barbara is not a Trump clone…and to enter Congress based on a lie is a dumb way to enter Congress.”

Wilkin said he is originally from upstate New York and was previously a Democrat. He said Comstock’s loss is not a victory for Democrats.

“The Democrats, I think, are going to regret the way they picked up whatever seats they pick up tonight,” Wilkin said. “Wexton’s not ready for prime time.”

Christine Hackett, 57, works part-time doing business development for an engineering firm. Hackett said she is a registered Democrat but voted for Comstock because she represented the district the best during her two terms.

Hackett said after Trump was elected in 2016, she started to listen more to people who said the Democratic Party was not helping them economically.

“I started paying attention a lot more and came to believe that Barbara Comstock was working for the whole district, not just Republicans,” Hackett said. “She works for everybody.”

Hackett also said the results were not because of Comstock’s views on issues and policies.

“Trump has a lot of detractors,” Hackett said. “She was unfortunately painted with that brush, and I just hope she doesn’t get discouraged and wants to stay involved in public service.”

The post Trump’s shadow looms over Comstock first appeared on 91����.

Attendees at Kaine’s election night watch party at the Falls Church Marriott Fairview Park hotel had to wait about 30 seconds after polls closed on Tuesday for Kaine to be declared the winner. Unofficial results show Kaine defeating his , the at-large chair of the Prince William County Board of County Supervisors, 57 percent to 41.2 percent, according to .

“I think tonight, Virginia showed who we are, and who we aren’t,” Kaine said.

Kaine, who took the stage after speeches from numerous Virginia Democratic political figures, including Sen. Mark Warner, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Gov. Ralph Northam and former Virginia Sec. of Education Anne Holton, who is Kaine’s wife, said he wasn’t accustomed to having a race called so early.

“They called my race at 7 o’clock and 30 seconds,” Kaine said. “I’m a 2 a.m. guy. I’m not a 7 o’clock guy.”

Kaine, as well as the other speakers, emphasized the need to keep up the Democratic momentum in the state, particularly as Democrats may have a chance to gain control of both chambers of the Virginia. General Assembly. Democrats have not controlled both chambers

The party attendees, the majority of whom trickled in after Kaine’s race had already been called, stayed huddled around the video boards to watch other races play out. Loud cheers went up when defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in Virginia’s 10th district.

George Becerra, a Democratic campaign supporter, was one of the first attendees to enter the party when it began at 7 p.m. He said he heard the announcement the race had been called as he walked into the ballroom. With Kaine’s race in hand, Becerra said he wanted to see if a “blue wave” would sweep across the country.

“I’m here to see the results and hopefully a blue wave or at least a good blue splashing,” Becerra said in the first hour of the rally.

Nationally, of Representatives but failed to take the U.S. Senate. But in Virginia, Democrats had reason to be optimistic. All four Democrats in the House of Representatives won re-election, and three Democrats — — won House seats from Republican incumbents.

Part of the Democrats’ success stemmed from the youth turnout, which has been a focus for that aims to motivate young voters to support progressive candidates. Carter Black, the Virginia state director for NextGen America, said some of the precincts they were tracking surpassed 2014’s youth turnout by noon Tuesday. She said some precincts doubled 2017’s youth turnout.

“I think the enthusiasm among young people has been very high in Virginia,” Black said. “We’ve seen reports of a couple places with almost near 2016 levels of youth vote turnout.”

Prior to election day, Kaine heavily campaigned for other candidates across the state and several speakers at his event, including Virginia Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker, credited Kaine for helping the party make gains in Virginia.

In his victory speech, Kaine said the focus must now be on strengthening Democrats’ control in Virginia’s General Assembly.

“Tomorrow I’m going to rest, but starting the day after tomorrow we’re starting an effort,” Kaine said. “We’re going to win back the House and the Senate in Virginia in 2019.”

The post Kaine wins easily in Virginia first appeared on 91����.

Volunteers at the polling place in the Chevy Chase neighborhood helped a mix of young and old voters cast their ballots.

“I’m surprised but happy that so many people came out to vote in the rain.” Bonnie Vandorn, Poll volunteer at Wesley Methodist Church

— Whitney Petralia (@PetraliaWhitney)

D.C. Board of Elections volunteer Bonnie VanDorn, 70, said she was happy with the significant voter turnout, despite the bad weather. She said 166 people voted in the first hour the polls were open and 100 people voted every hour after that.

“This polling center typically gets a lot of voters because it’s in an older neighborhood,” VanDorn said. “Older people tend to vote more than younger people.”

Although most voters were older, voting stations also saw young people, including American University student Nicolette Parozza.

“Honestly, voting in D.C. kind of feels a little useless, just because you know that all Democratic candidates are going to win. But, it’s your civic duty,” said Parozza, 22.

She said the turnout made her “hopeful.”

“As all the numbers have shown, a lot of people have been coming out, especially in early voting,” Parozza said.��

Longtime voter Scott Zupan said he was thrilled to be voting in another election.

“I think voting is more important now than ever,” he said. “So many people complain about the government, but don’t get out and vote. Nothing will change if people don’t exercise their right.”

VanDorn praised Washington, D.C., for the variety of voting options it provides.��91���� 52,510 residents cast their ballots at one of 14 early voting centers between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2,  show. Voters could also submit absentee ballots.

D.C. has same-day registration and does not require residents to show identification to vote.

“People are excited about this election,” VanDorn said. “They want to see change.”

"Unlike most places, you can register to vote in D.C. the day of the election. Also, you don't need an ID to register." -Bonnie VanDorn, poll volunteer at Wesley Methodist Church

— Whitney Petralia (@PetraliaWhitney)

The post Rain is no obstacle for DC voters in crucial midterm election first appeared on 91����.

Ben Jealous, the democratic gubernatorial candidate for Maryland, made a stop at a polling location in Bethesda to greet voters on election day.

Jealous, a known for his progressive activism, made a last minute appearance in Friendship Heights.

The event was sparsely attended, but Jealous greeted a few supporters and spoke to a small collection of press.

Jealous is seeking to unseat Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who enjoys a broad base of support in the state. That support has translated to a substantial lead in the race.

Some polling put Hogan of Jealous.

But Jealous isn’t ignoring that lead. Instead, he’s planning to beat the odds.

“We knew from the beginning that we were running up hill and that we’d be in a blizzard of negative advertising from governor Hogan and the Republican Party,” Jealous said outside the polling location. “With that said we have pushed, and what we’ve seen is we’ve won more and more voters to our side.”

Jealous had in the state’s primary, upsetting what many polls saw as a safe race for opponent Rushern Baker. Now, he’s hoping that he can achieve result in the governor’s race.

It will come down to mobilizing supporters, according to Jealous. It’s an effort he’s been aided in by childhood friend, Dave Chappelle.

The comedian for Jealous in the closing weeks of the campaign, calling voters in his home state of Maryland. Jealous hopes the extra enthusiasm before the ballot opens will help his campaign.

“We’re feeling very very good about our chances. So long as we have high voter turnout today, we will win,” Jealous said.

Keaneu Smith-Brown is a volunteer for the campaign. Like Jealous, he showed up to the polling location to raise last minute support and thank supporters for voting.

Smith-Brown was attracted to Jealous as a candidate because of his progressive platform, which calls for the legalization of marijuana and universal Medicare.

“I support Ben with all of my heart, soul and my spirit,” Smith-Brown said. “You’re talking about moving the state forward. Not staying where we are now.”

Not all voters were as enthusiastic about Jealous’ campaign.

Patty Cox was at the polling center to support his rival, incumbent Larry Hogan.

“He’s turned this state around. We were bankrupt, we were laying off people left and right… he came in and within two years he had money in the bank and everything,” she said.

She’s more critical of Jealous, whom she says is mismanaging the NAACP during his tenure as president. To Cox, Hogan is the more fiscally-responsible candidate the state needs.

Smith-Brown is more optimistic about his candidacy and what he can bring to Maryland.

“Ben speaks to the truth, what we need right now and what we need for the future,” he said.

Jealous said he remains confident in his chances of winning.

“I only plan for victory, and what life has taught me is that when you stay focused, push, you can win against the odds,” he said.

The post Governor candidate Ben Jealous greets Chevy Chase voters first appeared on 91����.

According to the (EAC), officials are working diligently to protect votes by proactively recognizing weaknesses and targeting threats that may compromise the process.

Since 2016, much of public conversation around federal elections has centered on security – and for good reason.

And as the 2018 midterm elections got closer, the EAC claims its officials worked to prove themselves more than capable of handling security threats by increasing the resiliency of their systems.

At the recent , Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said nearly half of the respondents lack faith that their votes will be counted accurately in the coming elections.

“There are really two goals in an election process,” Williams said. “One is to run it fairly and accurately. And the other, and just as important in many ways — is for the people to recognize that it has been done fairly and accurately.”

NEW POLL: Large majority of Americans concerned about election security

— The Hill (@thehill)

The Summit featured expert panelists and keynote speakers who examined best practices of election security, post-election audits and other pivotal election activities. It informed the public and lawmakers about the steps election leaders can take to ensure secure, accessible and efficient elections.

However, some people are still skeptical. Jasmine Wolfe, a 26-year-old who identifies as a Democrat, is temporarily living in Anne Arundel County in Maryland. She said she is planning to vote this election but feels it’s still not safe.

“To me, it seems obvious that our current voting systems are corruptible,” Wolfe said.

She thinks people need to see a change before they begin to trust the voting system.

“We live in a corrupt world, and our voting system reflects that,” she continued.

Wolfe said she believes that if the U.S. government doesn’t facilitate values such as honesty, respect and inclusivity, then people will continually face issues like voting fraud.

Daniel Parker, 42, a Tenleytown resident who considers himself an independent voter, said he believes hacking “has definitely happened.”

Parker said he believes the country is no longer a democracy and that the Trump administration is proving people don’t matter.

“Other countries are emulating what they see here, and we’re failing the world by allowing all of this to happen,” Parker said.

Although he believes election hacking occurs, he thinks voting needs to be electronic because humans can easily make mistakes counting paper ballots.

“People should get calls and/or emails about the confirmation, so they know things weren’t changed,” Parker said.

Meanwhile, Silver Spring resident Giovanni Jauregui, 22, has a different outlook. Although he believes that electronic voting can create problems like system breakdowns, he said the current system is just something everybody has to deal with.

“You do not stop taking a class because the grading is unfair,” said Jauregui, who is a student at a local community college.

Midterm elections are more important than general elections because it’s a revision of the public’s choices, he continued.

Earlier this year, states were given a total of $380 million to improve the security, efficiency and accessibility of elections.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma are working on a to give more money to states to handle elections. This will help ensure the country is able to take the right steps in protecting themselves, according to supporters of the bill.

Many members of Congress have supported the Secure Elections Act, which would give the Department of Homeland Security primary responsibility within the federal government for sharing information about election cybersecurity, threats and vulnerabilities within federal entities and election agencies.

The bill’s progress was abruptly in August. State election officials, including Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, criticized the bill because it required paper-based state audits but lacked the fund planning to support the audits. The bill is expected to be reconsidered post-midterm elections.

Paper trail

Access to a back-up paper voting record is crucial for risk-limiting audits. “You have to have paper ballots that you can actually audit,” Williams said.

“Something a voter can verify. After the election, we randomly select ballots from across every single polling place, every single voter and every single county to say we are going to audit a certain number of ballots,” he continued.

There are currently , despite warnings from cybersecurity experts. In the case of a cyberattack, states need to be ready with paper ballots, election officials said. Enabling each state to work with paper ballots and helping those 14 states replace their systems will probably be the most expensive element of the election security bill.

Anthony Haynes, 20, an Anne Arundel County resident and self-described emerging social media influencer, believes the only way to make voting safe is to have some sort of physical security at the polls.

Take a video tour of Facebook’s election security war room by

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch)

Haynes also said voters should be attentive and precise during the process. Human error is always cause for concern, he said.

“People should keep an eye out as well while they’re voting,” Haynes said.

He said he trusts election officials to make the process more secure for everyone.

“Paper ballots are a better idea, there’s no way a machine can change what circle was colored in an ink pen,” Haynes said.

Eliminating distrust

The public must know elections are secure and results are valid, according to the EAC website. Some of the benefits of that include:

• Reports of hacked ballots and changed results can be immediately addressed, and false reports can be discredited.
• Audits will reassure citizens that even if hacking occurred, it did not change the outcome.
• Audits will reveal changes, if even a change occurred.

Richard Williams, 52, is an Anne Arundel County farmer who said he is an independent voter but usually leans Republican. Williams said that it is important for people to vote regardless of hacking dangers.

“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about what happens in the country,” he said.

The post The path to safe voting is bumpy, and 2018 will test the system first appeared on 91����.

Amidst the arrival of another election day, new numbers find surging interest in this year’s midterm elections despite a substantial amount of Americans that choose not to vote for a variety of reasons.

Early voter turnout in 27 states has exceeded the 2014 midterm early vote count, according to University of Florida’s , an electoral project spearheaded by associate professor Michael McDonald. This year’s turnout is higher than normal, McDonald said.

However, 43 percent of the American electorate did not go to the polls in 2016, according to McDonald’s research. The data show that out of 232 million eligible voters, only 132 million voted, 60.5 million voted for Hillary Clinton and 60 million voted for Donald Trump. Roughly, 100 million eligible voters chose not to cast a ballot.

“I talked to people back home who didn’t vote because there’s sort of this sense of hopelessness around politics,” George Washington University student Chase Kleber said.

Kleber said many people he knows see continuous loss, after placing faith in a candidate because they promised change would happen. According to Kleber, when people feel that there is no progress being made, they simply lose hope.

“That lack of change drives them to see no point in voting,” Kleber said.

Natalie Dow, a fellow GW student, voted absentee in her home state of Colorado. She offers a different point of view.

“The future depends so much on what we want and what we say that we want the world to turn into, so if you’re not putting your word out there and voting for people who you think represent you, then how can you expect the future to be one that you want to be a part of,” Dow said.

This issue is not as cut and dry as it seems. There are several barriers that can prevent people from voting, according to a

In 2016, 25 percent of respondents said they did not vote because of a strong distaste for the candidates and the issues being covered. The Pew Research data also found 15 percent did not vote because they felt their vote had no impact on the outcome of the election, 14 percent said they were too busy or had conflicting schedules, 12 percent claimed illness or disability, 11 percent said other, 8 percent said they were out of town or away, 4 percent said they had registration problems, 3 percent forgot to vote, another 3 percent had transportation issues, and 2 percent said the hours or polling locations where an inconvenience.

James Harnett, Foggy Bottom Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, is currently supporting the The bill lowers the legal voting age to 16 in the District of Columbia. There are a slew of difficulties that get in the way of people casting a ballot, Harnett said.

“We don’t do enough to encourage voting, we don’t do enough to break down the barriers of voting,” Harnett said.

The logistics of voting, buying stamps for absentee ballots and being aware of deadlines are some of the setbacks Harnett has come across in registering people to vote.

Harnett said a friend of his registered to vote in her home state of Tennessee and had to fly back home from D.C., because the state refused to mail her an absentee ballot.

According to Harnett, a lack of absentee ballots seems to be causing a lot of problems for college students who are away from home. He said around 150-200 George Washington University students on average have to re-register to vote in D.C because their home states would not send them absentee ballots.

Former president of the University of California, San Diego’s non-partisan , Liam Barrett, said a lack of education has a tremendous effect on people turning themselves away from the polls.

“I think a lot of people feel that they are not knowledgeable enough to cast a vote,” Barrett said.

This same answer was given by Harnett and Dow as the most common response they received from non-voters in D.C.

Barrett said a complete breakdown in civics education in this country has failed many Americans trying to vote because many of them were never taught about it.

“A lot of people don’t know how to register to vote,” Barrett said.

He said his experience as former president showed him most people don’t know they need to re-register to vote when they relocate to a new area.

“Registration is hard, it’s very difficult to get registered correctly,” Barrett said.

Barrett, like Harnett, says the system is not an easy process to sign people up for, which also causes many to feel disenfranchised.

The majority of people who do not vote are not in the over-hyped, stereotypical crowd that believe their vote makes no difference. But Barrett offers up a simple counterpoint to those who feel their vote does not matter.

“You might not think your vote matters, but a lot of these races are decided by 100 people that didn’t think their vote counted,” Barrett said.

The post Research shows voting spikes, despite voters feeling powerless first appeared on 91����.

Natalie Niemeyer, a 25 year-old researcher for Democratic organizations, left her cubicle in D.C. this fall to do something she said she rarely gets to do: talk with voters face-to-face. As a volunteer, she’s gone door-to-door in Michigan as part of a marathon effort to reach undecided voters.

“Michigan Center. Jackson. Pontiac. They’ve all blended together,” she said from a rest stop near Troy, a city just north of Detroit.

Niemeyer is among the many who have become more involved in politics in the two years since President Trump was elected. Niemeyer chose Michigan because it’s a “hyper-focused, microcosm of what’s going on” nationally, she said. Trump won the state by less than 10,000 votes in 2016, and several midterm races for the in the state are forecasted as toss-ups. Women are on the ballot in three of the closest races.

Many have compared the 2018 midterm elections to 1992’s “Year of the Woman,” when doubled in the Senate and increased from 28 to 47 members in the House. The 235 women running for the House of Representatives as party nominees this year represent a 41 percent increase from the previous record of 167 in 2016, according to the at Rutgers University.

The historic numbers come with an important caveat though, said Melissa Deckman, a political scientist at Washington College: 193 of the women candidates for the House are Democrats, compared to 52 Republicans.

The surge of women entering politics “is really just a phenomenon on the political left and in the Democratic party,” said Deckman. The #MeToo movement has motivated many women to run, but a variety of ideological factors that “well predates the #MeToo movement” prevents a similar trend in the Republican party, said Deckman.

“They’re not as upset about how power is dispersed within society as Democratic women,” she said.

“Republican women would say that [sexual] harassment is a bad thing, it’s a problem for society, but they care far more about immigration, or abortion, or the economy. Whereas for the Democratic women, sexual harassment is a driver of their voting calculus,” Deckman said.

She cited a study from the that found six in 10 total respondents said they “would definitely not vote for a political candidate if they had been accused of sexual harassment by multiple people.” Only 30 percent of those respondents were Republicans.

The study also showed the wide gap between women of opposite parties: 84 percent of Democratic women said they wouldn’t vote for such a candidate; only 41 percent of Republican women said they wouldn’t, either.��

Deckman said that the Democratic party has many partner organizations like  that recruit and train women to run for office, but far fewer organizations exist on the Republican side.

In Michigan, Niemeyer said voters she’s spoken with often care about more tangible issues, as opposed to ideological questions about gender and power. She says many women voters she’s met are working class and “feel they have been forgotten” by the political establishment. Niemeyer tells them, “We want you to have a job that gives you enough time to spend time with your child, to survive and to thrive,” she said.

Niemeyer’s friend Gechi Robertson, who works as a nanny and retail clerk, volunteered for a political campaign for the first time this weekend near D.C., door-knocking in Virginia’s 7th District for Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer looking to unseat Republican Dave Brat in Congress.

Although Spanberger is a Democrat, she can speak to “that Virginian ideal,” Robertson said. “She’s very pro-law enforcement. She’s a former CIA agent. She believes we should maintain the Second Amendment, but at the same time certain laws should be added onto it.”

Robertson only spoke with a handful of voters, but said researching the issues and connecting with other volunteers over the weekend “instead of having brunch,” made her realize how much there is to learn. “Politics is just so frickin’ vast,” she said. “I wish I had started earlier.”

The post 2018 to be Another “Year of the Woman” — With One Caveat first appeared on 91����.