Pink Wave: Women to Flood Congress After Historic Election Night
*By Chloe Aiello*
The Democrats may not have gotten quite the blue wave they were hoping for ー but for women in politics, Election Day was an indisputable success.
"I think the night was better than you thought it would be going in. I'm seeing something like a pink tsunami, compared to that Democratic blue wave," Bustle senior political correspondent Erin Delmore told Cheddar on Wednesday.
Female candidates won congressional seats and governorships in record numbers Tuesday night. At least 95 women won seats in the House Wednesday morning, breaking a previous record of 84 women, [NBC news reported.](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/how-did-women-candidates-do-2018-midterms-n932801) Nine women will call various governors' mansions across the U.S. home.
These wins were mostly fueled by the Democratic Party, which put a record numbers of women on the ballot.
"When you talk about Democrats clinching control of the House, you have the women candidates to thank," Delmore said.
Delmore said that many of these candidates adopted a new approach when campaigning for their various positions. Instead of downplaying their various backgrounds and ties to family ー they leaned in.
"This is something new we saw from women candidates: they are not trying to focus on their resumes and tout their accomplishments and push their families aside," she said. "People really leaned into their backgrounds, their biographies, their family lives, their struggles ー and it really resonated with voters."
And several of the female candidates broke records of their own.
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan became the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Sharice Davids defeated a Republican incumbent in Kansas to become the first openly LGBTQ woman to represent Kansas. Also a Native American, Davids will join Debra Haaland of New Mexico in becoming the first Native American women in Congress. New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became [the youngest woman ever elected to Congress](https://cheddar.com/videos/lgbt-muslim-and-women-candidates-make-history-in-the-2018-midterms) at 29-years-old.
For this wave of women leaders, the next few years are going to be about much more than stereotypical women's issues.
"Don't expect women to sit back and talk about birth control and reproductive rights as women's issues. Women's issues are the economy, their education, their gun control. They are everything that hits your pocket book, hits your kids and hits you in your everyday life," Delmore said.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz, Marketing & Content Manager at Alaska Tour & Travel, breaks down when and how to plan your best trip to Alaska; Kristen Miller, Acting Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Magic of the Wild.'
Kristen Miller, acting executive director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it.
The Department of Treasury is warning Americans to expect delays on their tax returns this year as the IRS manages staffing shortages due to the pandemic.
The United States and Russia remain distant following a meeting between high-level officials for the two countries in Geneva, Switzerland. The nations remain conflicted over Washington's concern of a potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Moscow dispute with NATO expanding into former Soviet states. Hagar Chemali, host of Oh My World on YouTube and former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the U.N., joined Cheddar's "News Wrap" to give her take about the careful diplomatic negotiations underway. "I would expect more rounds," she said about the talks. "Both sides really remain adamant that we're not going to talk about Russia's proposal, and Russia doesn't want to talk about anything but its proposal. So once they start talking about the other items on the table, and there are a few other items, that's when negotiations can start."
Markets closed the day mixed, and well off their lows of the day following a market meltdown earlier in the session. The Nasdaq staged a comeback late in the day, even amid ongoing worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capito, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and what's driving the major indexes.
Eli Yokley, Senior Reporter at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss how Americans are prioritizing economic issues over the pandemic when it comes to voting.
President Biden's disapproval rating hit a new high in December according to a poll from CNBC and Change Research, as Americans expressed their disapproval over the current state of the economy. This comes just months after the president signed a historic infrastructure bill back in November that was promised to bring a surge of jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector.
Change Research Senior Pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz spoke to Cheddar News about just what is driving the President’s disapproval rating.
