Politics

Wisconsin Republicans Undermine Election Results by Stripping Incoming Democrats of Power

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin state legislature has voted to strip Democratic Governor-elect Tony Evers and Democratic Attorney General-elect Josh Kaul of a significant amount of power, a last ditch effort by lame-duck Republican Governor Scott Walker to undermine the democratic process after losing his race in November. Governor Walker is expected to sign the bill into […]

Politics

Democratic Majority to Prioritize Passing the Dream Act and Immigrant Protections

Nancy Pelosi promised to pass legislation protecting Dreamers and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) once the House Democratic majority convenes in January. Colleagues are urging Pelosi to schedule a vote on bills that protect Dreamers and TPS immigrants from deportation and provide pathways to citizenship within the first 100 days of the new Congress. […]

Politics

Introduction of National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2019

On Thursday, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) announced they will introduce the very first National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights when the new Congress convenes next year. The bill, co-sponsored by Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Kamala Harris, would increase wages, labor conditions and protections for domestic workers. Domestic workers are often underpaid, and […]

Politics

Nancy Pelosi Closer to Being the Next Speaker of the House

The first round of voting for House Democratic Leadership was completed on Wednesday, putting Nancy Pelosi one vote closer to being the next Speaker of the House. Following a fight to ensure she would have enough votes to regain speakership in the upcoming Congress, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, unopposed, handily won her election. Throughout the […]

Politics

Stacey Abrams’ Lawsuit Challenges Georgia’s Voting System

Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, is leading a lawsuit that aims to reform Georgia’s voting system as a whole. The lawsuit argues that the overall effect of the various voting regulations and policies is that voters, especially voters of color, are prevented from casting their ballot. The issues the lawsuit targets specifically […]

Politics

Hyde-Smith Wins Mississippi Senate Special Election

Last night, Cindy Hyde-Smith won the special runoff in Mississippi for U.S. Senator against Mike Epsy. The election follows a month-long fight between Hyde-Smith and Epsy, which led to numerous allegations of racism against Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Following Senator Thad Cochran’s resignation from the Senate in April due to health reasons, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith […]

Politics

Almost a Year Later, Sexual Harassment Legislation May Pass

Almost a year after Congress announced plans to pass sexual harassment legislation, Mitch McConnell announced that the legislation can still move forward before 2019.  The House passed sexual harassment legislation in February while a weaker version of the bill was passed in the Senate in May. However, the Senate has struggled to negotiate the differences […]

LGBTQ Politics

Election Night 2018 Historic for LGBTQ+ Candidates

A week after the midterm election, Kyrsten Sinema was declared the winner of the Arizona Senate election, making her the first openly bisexual person elected to Congress and Arizona’s first female Senator. After Tuesday’s election, the total number of LGBTQ+ members of Congress is now eleven, the first time that the number has reached double […]

Politics

Democrats’ First Legislative Priority is Voting Rights Reform

Democrats announced this week that their first legislative vote will be a sweeping voting reform act, H.R. 1, that Democrats believe will increase public trust in the government and strengthen democratic institutions. The legislation aims to reform redistricting, create automatic voter registration, revive the Voting Rights Act, overturn the Citizen’s United ruling, and expand the […]

Politics

The 2018 Gender Gap

The 2018 midterm election had the highest gender gap since 1992, a 23 point difference between men’s and women’s voting preferences, because a majority of women voted for Democrats. While this may not seems like a large increase from the 2016 election’s 22 point gender gap, the numbers are skewed because more men voted for […]

Politics

Feminist Candidates Find Support in Battleground Districts

A recent poll in eleven battleground districts, including districts in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Arizona, and Minnesota, revealed that about half of voters support electing feminist candidates. In Kentucky’s sixth district, 47 percent of voters supported electing more feminist candidates, while more than 50 percent of voters supported feminist candidates in Pennsylvania, […]

LGBTQ Politics

Massachusetts Upholds a Law Protecting Transgender Residents

Massachusetts residents yesterday voted to uphold a law passed in 2016 that prohibited discrimination against gender identity in public spaces. This is the first state-wide vote to protect transgender individuals and the measure was upheld with over 67 percent of the vote. In 2016, an emergency law passed that immediately went into effect to outlaw […]

Politics

Women Win Across the Country in 2018 Midterms

Women won more seats in Congress yesterday than ever before, with over 110 women elected, including the first Muslim women, first Native American women, and two women in their twenties. The women who were elected include the former Teacher of the Year, small business owners, former military helicopter pilots, activists, a former CIA officer, and […]

Politics

Election Day 2018

Today is Election Day in the United States and the first nationwide election since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. Voters heading to the polls will be able to cast their ballots for their House Representative, ballot measures, local elections and, in some states, their Senator or governor. Early voting numbers predict that the […]

Politics

Representative Steve King Facing Tough Re-election because of White Nationalist ties

On Tuesday, Representative Steve Stivers, the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman, became the latest person to drop their support for Steve King, a Republican running re-election in Iowa’s 4th district, who has neo-Nazi ties and consistently makes explicitly racist statements. Representative Stivers tweeted out a statement denouncing King for his “recent comments, actions, and retweets,” […]

Politics

Letter in Opposition to the Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court

See PDF version here August 31, 2018   Chairman Chuck Grassley Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate   Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate   Dear Chairman Grassley and Ranking Member Feinstein,   On behalf of the Feminist Majority Foundation, a national organization dedicated to women’s equality, reproductive health, […]