Elizabeth Warren faced some skepticism about her claims that she lost a teaching job because of pregnancy discrimination, with a debate springing up about explicit versus implicit discriminatory acts, and Thomas Kaplan of The New York Times spoke to CAWP Director Debbie Walsh for a story about the use of "authenticity" standards to attack women candidates. Walsh noted the history of this line of criticism, but said that stories of her facing this form of insidious discrimination would "make her relatable for an awful lot of women out there who understand that this has been how the world works."

The presidential candidates participated in a forum to address LGBTQ issues last week, where Kamala Harris started her remarks by announcing that her pronouns are "she, her, and hers," and noting that, when other Democrats were talking about civil unions, she was performing marriage ceremonies as the San Francisco district attorney. The forum also set the stage for a zinger from Elizabeth Warren: when asked how she would respond to someone who said they thought marriage was between one man and one woman, she said, "I'm going to assume it's a guy who said that, and I'm gonna say "Then just marry one woman...assuming you can find one.'"

Women's PACs 

Women for a Stronger New Jersey (WSNJ) was recently established to grow the number of Republican women seeking and serving in elected office at the state and local level by building a network of women supporting women. Republican women are underrepresented at all levels of government in New Jersey. This is particularly evident in the state legislature, where there are currently only seven female state legislators - one senator and six assemblywomen - a 14 year low. Led by founding board members Kathy Hugin, Laura Overdeck, and CAWP's long-time friend Candy Straight, WSNJ is working to build a diverse network of moderate Republican and Independent women throughout the state who want to be active in politics and expand the talent pool of women considering public office. WSNJ will also be supporting women on the ballot in this year's legislative elections through independent expenditures in support of candidates in races where it believes targeted efforts can help. Stacy Schuster will serve as the organization's executive director. More information will be made available later this week including a website launch on Thursday at  www.wsnj.org.  

 

If you want to find other PACs for women candidates nationally or in your state, visit our Political and Leadership Resource Map.