This slate of candidates for this year’s midterm elections is more diverse than we’ve seen before.
At least that’s how it appears to an executive from one political action organization that advocates for getting women into office.
“What has been really interesting has been to be in this room and see the energy and see the commitment of women that we’re seeing,” said Vanessa Cardenas, Strategic Communications Director of Emily’s List. “We want to be at the table when these decisions are being made about our bodies, about our children, about our schools.”
Emily’s List, which focuses on pro-choice, Democratic women, teaches its members the steps to running for office and holds events where community members can support said candidates.
Cardenas says 26,000 women signed up for its programs after the 2016 presidential election, and there’s already been an impact. She points to victories by female candidates in Virginia last November and the voter turnout in Alabama that swayed last month’s special election for the U.S. Senate as examples. And there’s more diversity on the ballot for the midterms.
“In Chicago, for example, we have Sol Flores, who is a community activist that built-up a non profit from the ground up, advocating for the homeless community there. She’s a first-time candidate,” Cardenas said. “In El Paso, Texas we had the opportunity to elect the first Latina elected for Congress and she’s a judge, and she has an amazing background.”
Cardenas’ comments come before this weekend’s second annual Women’s March. Last year’s event, held in cities across the globe, drew 6 million people and became the largest organized march in U.S. history.
But while the movement was criticized by some for ignoring issues affecting women of color and trans women, Cardenas says that “younger, more diverse women” are now committed to march to a different beat.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-to-expect-from-the-second-annual-womens-march).
Low-code app development platform Crowdbotics raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Jackson Square Ventures. Crowdbotics has helped more than 14,000 customers launch apps without having to learn how to code. The company can offer a team of expert developers to help companies launch custom apps, or provide the means for companies to develop apps themselves. Crowdbotics CEO Anand Kulkarni joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Dr. Celeste González de Bustamante, professor and director of the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the Univerity of Arizona, and Dr. Jeannine E. Relly, professor and director of Global Initiatives at the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the University of Arizona, join Cheddar News to discuss the recent journalist killings in Mexico.
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims has doubled its valuation to $3.2 billion. Investors have taken a bet on the success of this brand in the form of fresh funds for the two-year-old company.
Nathan Harding, CEO of Luum, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions, and how automation is making its way into the beauty industry
Kevin Yu, Founder and CEO of Sidechef, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy, and how its features help you discover new recipes with the same ingredients to fight the massive problem of food waste.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Sidechef CEO breaks down how it's building a platform to make recipe shopping easy; Luum CEO explains the process of having a robot put on eyelash extensions; A look at Curiosity Stream's new original series, 'Evolve.'
Wednesday marked two years since the basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash. In remembrance, a bronze statue has been temporarily placed at the site with all of the passenger's names included on the memorial.
McDonald's missed on both the top and bottom lines in its Q4 earnings, marking the fourth loss for the fast-food giant in the past eight quarters. It comes as higher costs from food to wages ate into the blue-chip company's profits. George Seay, CEO of investment advisor Annandale Capital, joined Wake Up with Cheddar to discuss the recent numbers and the better-than-expected success of the McPlant burger made with plant-based Beyond Meat. "They're changing with the times, and they have to," Seay noted. "You can just sell a Big Mac to everybody. There's a lot of people who don't want to eat a Big Mac anymore."