More Republican women than ever before are planning to launch political campaigns in hopes of being elected, according to a Yale University trainer.
Women who identify as being a member of the GOP are currently significantly outnumbered by Democrats. There are 21 Republican women in the House and Senate, compared to 106 Democratic women. At the state level, there are more than twice as many Democratic women as Republicans.
“In the history of our school, we’ve never seen this before,” Patti Russo, who runs Yale’s Women’s Campaign School, told NBC News. The school recently held its first-ever training specifically geared toward Republican women running for local office and for Congress. “They’re tired of being quiet, and they know they have a lot to give,” Russo also said.
“They bought into the narrative that we’re the party of angry, anti-women,” a female GOP candidate said at one training. “And it’s just not true. We’re the party of opportunity.”
Several candidates said their motivation for running ranged from the contentious confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to concerns about health care policy and immigration.
“So many of us are Republicans in hiding,” Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee, who is bidding for a seat as an Illinois congresswomen, said. Several described themselves as being more socially liberal but fiscally conservative. Another candidate, Laura Ramirez Drain of Virginia, said she was staunchly pro-life.
“There is room for all of that in the Republican Party,” said Angela Woods, who sought a city council seat in McCandless, Pennsylvania.
Responding to questions about comments by President Trump that were perceived as disparaging to women, several potential candidates expressed displeasure with the president’s tone. The women also rebuked the notion that Trump’s comments should turn them off from Republican policies and values. “It is disparaging, and I can recognize that, but it’s not going to dissuade me from running,” said Anne Smith, seeking a seat on the Virginia Legislative Assembly. “There’s more of a reason to show that women will stand up and be in the Republican Party.”
