Collection
The Electability Myth
Through rigorous vetting and campaigning, political candidates need to convince the electorate they can actually win the offices they’re aiming to capture. For women, the term “electability” has taken on a different meaning — and often cloaks long-held sexist views toward women and their ability to lead.
In This Collection
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This candidate says she quit Twitter because of online harassment
Sara Lind plans to focus on in-person campaigning between now and her June primary for a seat on the New York City Council. “I don’t need to be here in order to run a successful campaign.”
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Despite historic 2020 gains, LGBTQ+ candidates faced homophobic attacks
This year’s rainbow wave came with a wave of backlash that left some LGBTQ+ people wondering if it’s worth running at all.
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Kamala Harris applauds Biden’s “audacity to choose a Black woman to be his running mate”
In Harris’s first interview since becoming Biden’s vice presidential pick, she spoke about voter access, how the pandemic has exacerbated inequities and how a Biden-Harris campaign will prioritize marginalized communities.
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The outsize importance of Biden’s vice presidential pick
“There’s a feeling that this woman has to be the woman that gets it across the finish line — otherwise, the story is that a woman couldn’t get it done again.”
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Stacey Abrams keeps her focus on voting
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Abrams sees that it will change the way millions of Americans participate in the next election.
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In the end, ‘electability’ wins again
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's exit from the 2020 Democratic primary highlights the implicit bias the term "electability" carries in favor of White men.
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In South Carolina, Black women are united in wanting to beat Trump but divided over who’s the best candidate to do it
Almost all of them confessed to wrestling with a head-versus-heart choice that often splits down generational lines.
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For Klobuchar and Warren, the 2020 primary is an endurance race
Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren are running campaigns of durability.
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Female surrogates make the case for candidates’ electability and appeal across Iowa
Democratic candidates are calling on women to energize potential caucus-goers.
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