*By Christian Smith*
The Republican Party still has a lot of work to do when it comes to getting women involved in national politics, said Sarah Chamberlain, president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership. It starts with money.
In an interview on Cheddar, Sarah Chamberlain said men are still bigger check-givers than women. And they tend to give to other men.
"The Republican party is primarily funded by men," she said.
Funding is essential to winning seats in Congress: More than $1.3 billion has already been spent on House races alone for the 2018 midterm elections according to the [Center For Responsive Politics](https://www.opensecrets.org/overview/).
Without proper funding, non-incumbent candidates typically don't have the resources to build the name recognition it takes to win an election ー which Chamberlain said is precisely what befell Ashley Nickloes in the race for the Republican nomination in Tennessee's 2nd District.
Nickloes raised [$150,000 in individual contributions](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/politics/women-campaign-fundraising.html) and received $100,000 from the Republican Main Street Partnership, which was just enough to air one TV ad in the district. She eventually placed third behind two men who out-raised her.
While the Republican Party may not have put forth as many female candidates for the House and Senate as the Democrats this year ー 59 to 197 ー Chamberlain hopes that will change by the next by election year.
"I really hope by 2020 and 2022, we are ready from the GOP side and we're ready to elect a lot more women to Congress, both the House and the Senate," Chamberlain said.
"Ladies, we are 51 percent of this country and our population," she said. "We have to get engaged, we have to turn out, we have to be willing to run, and we have to be willing to fund good female candidates when we find them."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-republican-main-street-partnership-ceo-sarah-chamberlain-says-there-is-a-gender-gap-in-political-fundraising).
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has made his case for major U.S. backing of Ukraine and Israel in a time of war.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to try a third vote to become House speaker, even as his Republican colleagues are explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.
Donald Trump is winning over swing state voters including in several states even leaning toward President Joe Biden, according to a recent poll by Bloomberg and Morning Consult.
A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent,” her employer said Thursday.
Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan failed again Wednesday on a crucial second ballot to become House speaker, the hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump losing even more GOP colleagues who refused to give him the the gavel.
