Rep. Frankel Says a 'Pink Wave' is Coming: Trump Is 'Best Recruiter' Democrats Have
*By Max Godnick and Christian Smith*
A [record number of women](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/08/women-rule-midterms-443267) are running for political office, and one congresswoman thinks America has one man to thank.
"The best recruiter we've had, his name is President Donald Trump," Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
"After the election in 2016, we have seen women agitated," she said. "They're raring to go."
Frankel, who has represented Florida's 21st Congressional District since 2013, cited 50 female Democratic candidates running in competitive swing districts, and predicted that her party could have between 25 and 40 new congresswomen in its ranks in 2019.
"Many of these women have never been in politics," she said. "Many are mothers ー they do not want their children growing up in the kind of environment they see that this president is creating."
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) echoed Frankel's optimism in a separate interview on Cheddar Wednesday.
"We're going to elect women in record numbers," Maloney said; America is entering the "decade of the woman," she added.
In total, 257 women won party nominations for the House of Representatives and Senate for this year's midterms ー 235 for the House and 22 for the Senate.
For Frankel, it's not just a matter of winning and losing.
Frankel is the co-chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus and has championed legislation for women's rights, including the "Keeping Girls in School Act" and the "Pregnant Workers Fairness Act." But only a fraction of the policy proposals garner support from both sides of the aisle.
The biggest roadblock to bipartisan cooperation among women in Congress might be the lack of women across the aisle.
"Unfortunately for the Republicans they do not really have that many women," Frankel said. There are just 23 Republican women serving in the House of Representatives, compared to the body's 61 Democrats.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/are-women-more-bipartisan-than-men).
California Governor Gavin Newsom is projected to keep his job. Around two-thirds of the votes have been reported, and roughly 64% of those votes are in favor of keeping Newsom as their governor.
Daniel Strauss, senior political correspondent at The New Republic, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more about what Newsom's win means to both political parties moving into Midterm elections season.
The Department of Justice is suing Texas over the state's new abortion law that prohibits abortions after six weeks, well before many women even know they're pregnant. The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent. It was filed last week in federal court in Texas, but could go all the way to the high court within weeks. Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, discusses the DOJ lawsuit and what it could mean for other abortion laws across the country.
26 states have now fully vaccinated more than half of their population with Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts fully vaccinating at least two-thirds of their residents. These three states are among the ones with the lowest new Covid-19 cases per capita, but in states with low vaccination rates, hospitals are filling up again.
Dr. Rob Davidson, ER doctor and executive director of Committee to Protect Health Care, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more.
The Biden Administration has officially extended a ban on a Trump-era policy that prohibits traveling with a U.S. passport to North Korea. The extension is expected to last until August 2022. The ban was initially enforced after the death of Otto Warmbier, who entered a vegetative state while in North Korean custody. Advocates against the ban argue that it has caused crippling impacts on Korean Americans who have not been able to reunite with their families back home. Senior Fellow at The Foundation For Defense of Democracies Anthony Ruggiero joined Cheddar's News Wrap to discuss more.
