A Democracy For Us All: The State of Women of Color in 2022
By Aimee Allison, Founder and President of She the People
With Election Day in the rearview mirror and some races still left to be called, we are feeling victorious. Democrats did historically well for a Midterm Election, defeating the “Red Wave” mirage that threatened our families and futures. Let’s be clear: democracy was the winner this cycle, with election deniers and MAGA extremists conceding races in a way that was a clear repudiation of Trumpism and extremism.
In this political moment, we must give credit where credit is due: where Democratic wins are already decided, exit polls show people of color – particularly women of color – had a big role in making that happen.
Building our Political CAPITAL
Today, we can reflect and celebrate the wins of our powerhouse candidates now in position to affect change from Congress to statehouses across the country. The face of leadership is changing, and these historic wins by women of color candidates are a testament to our power:
Emilia Sykes, whose win makes her the third Black woman to represent Ohio in the House of Representatives; overcame over $9 million in dark money attacks
Summer Lee, whose victory in Pennsylvania as the first Black woman to represent Pittsburgh in Congress – despite a late onslaught of dark money – likely helped secure statewide Democratic wins
Andrea Campbell, Massachusetts’ first Black, female Attorney General
Malia Cohen, the first Black woman to hold the office of California’s state Controller and 7th Black woman in history to hold an executive statewide office
Michele Rayner, the first openly queer Black woman serving in the Florida Legislature, re-elected for a second term
Delia Ramirez, the first Latina elected to Congress from Illinois
Mary Peltola, an Indigenous woman currently leading in Alaska’s House race
Many women of color leaders who understand how our issues are deeply interconnected and address economic issues, access to healthcare, safety, and abortion access together – including Ayanna Pressley, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Lucy McBath and Grace Meng – kept their seats. We need to also lift up Lina Hildalgo, who won Texas’ Harris County judge seat, beating a well-funded Trump endorsed candidate. The caucus of progressive women of color elected leaders is growing, shifting the Democratic party’s center of gravity to the left.
These leaders will do the work to expand economic justice, racial justice and gender equality for us all, while also delivering for the multiracial movement of voters who show up every election but feel unheard by those in power. As more women of color occupy state office, and as more decisions over the next two years will be determined in states, the potential for impact is exciting.
While we celebrate these wins, we are also heartbroken by the losses, particularly when the margins were so close in major races for U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races. Val Demings, Cheri Beasley, Stacey Abrams, Rochelle Garza - these women of color candidates did the hard work of bringing out high potential voters, successfully tying abortion messaging to economic messaging, and overcoming every obstacle imaginable to come within striking distance of victory. These candidates did all the right things but ultimately needed more support by the Democratic Party, early and consistently, to win.
Ahead of the Midterms, we also witnessed a severe crackdown on voting discouraging our people from turning out. Our ten-state Listening Tour shows that despite every obstacle – from underinvestment to feeling unheard by their elected officials – women of color are motivated to vote. For us, voting is not always a question of motivation - voter suppression is the real obstacle.
Where We Go From Here
These Midterms have made our mandate leading up to 2024 abundantly clear: instead of upholding the status quo and defending a democracy that doesn’t serve all people, we need to work hard over the next two years to reform this into a democracy that does. The work starts with combating voter suppression if we want to win more decisive victories with larger margins in 2024.
We cannot rest on our laurels. We must continue to harness the momentum of women of color - both as voters and as candidates - in the run-up to 2024. The center of gravity is moving in the Democratic party. We showed the power of our vote. There are remarkable candidates from our communities that need investment and support. We have the power to reform our democracy into one that works for us all. Let’s get to work.