A Record-Breaking Year For Women

We are only a month into 2020 and so much has already happened, especially in politics. Between Iran, the Impeachment hearings, and the upcoming election, there have been enough headlines to go around. What hasn’t been talked about, especially in the press, is the outstanding number of women running for Congress. 565 women are registered to run for Congress. Many of the candidates have already made a name for themselves outside of their districts but there are a few who really stick out. Here is just a small list of some of the stand-out female candidates this cycle!

Amy McGrath

Amy is running in Mitch McConnell’s Senatorial district. She is a former Marine fighter pilot. She got her political start as a Congressional Fellow. She advised a senior member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee on defense and foreign policy. Amy ran for the House of Representatives in 2018 but lost. This cycle, she is back and stronger than ever. Amy is not only fighting to beat McConnell, she is also fighting for affordable health care, economic stability, and to help veterans. 

Lauren Underwood

Lauren currently serves Illinois’ 14th Congressional district. She is the youngest African American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is on the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, and the House Committee on Homeland Security. She is also a lifelong Girl Scout.

Lucy McBath

Lucy is the daughter of a nurse and the former president of the Illinois branch of the NAACP. She grew up going to civil rights rallies and marches. She was a flight attendant for 30 years. In 2012, her son was shot and killed in his car for playing his music loudly. Since then, her passion for social justice and activism intensified. Lucy flipped Georgia’s 6th Congressional seat from red to blue in 2018. Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, that was previously held by Newt Gingrich, had been under Republican control since 1979. It also had never been represented by a Democratic woman or a person of color until her victory. She is now up for re-election and she’s up for a tough fight this cycle. 

Brigid Callahan Harrison

Brigid is a political science professor from New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional district. She felt the need to run for this seat when she saw how Jeff Van Drew, the incumbent of this seat, “put his own political interests over his oath to the Constitution and the people who elected him in South Jersey”. Jeff Van Drew, Democrat turned Republican, was one of only a few Democrats who voted against impeachment in December 2019. She currently has support from 6 of the 8 county chairs in the district. Brigid is fighting for affordable health care, improving infrastructure, student loan debt forgiveness, and making sure corporate special interest money gets out of politics. 

Jessica Cisneros

Jessica is a 26-year-old immigration and human rights lawyer. She is running for Texas’s 28th Congressional district. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and saw first-hand how unfairly certain demographics were treated. She is working hard to keep corporate money out of politics, be an advocate for the working class and families, fix the immigration system, and making healthcare more affordable.