THESE WOMEN RUNNING IN SWING STATES NEED YOUR VOTE!

It’s that time of the year. Yes, there’s pumpkin-spice everything, colored leaves falling around us, and cozy vina get-togethers, but it’s also time to VOTE. That’s right: November 6 is the Midterm Elections, and it’s more important than ever to make your voice heard.

This year, we’ve already seen two major records get beaten—the highest total number of filed female candidates (476!) and the number of female candidates who won primaries (235!), making it to the general elections.

What this means is that the largest number of women ever have set out to make a difference—talk about historic.

And then there are the women running in swing states. Swing states as we know them are states that are not considered ‘safely’ in either Democratic or Republican stronghold. Because election results from these states can swing from one to the other, they become major battlefields for any election campaign. And this year, the swing states are even more in the spotlight—it is the last national vote before the 2020 Presidential Elections and the two parties are projecting starkly different stances in regards to labor, immigration, and human rights policies.

This year, there are 55 female candidates running in 11 swing states: Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Although none of the women candidates in New Hampshire made it to the general elections, it’s also a swing state, so many eyes will be closely following the results (and New Hampshire will still be making history: They’ll elect either its first African-American or first openly LGBTQ member of Congress!)

To learn more about the women running in swing states, VINAZINE is breaking it all down for you!

In total, there are 55 women running for Congress in swing states this year. 46 are Democrats and 9 are Republicans; 40 are running against male opponents, while 15 are against females; 31 are first-time candidates. Meet them:

COLORADO

Colorado has three female candidates running for Congress:

Diane Mitsch Bush

• Democratic candidate running for 3rd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Diane is not favored to win.
• Check out Diane’s campaign here!

Karen McCormick

• Democratic candidate running for 4th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is competing in a district that voted for Republican presidential candidates in the last two elections.
• Check out Karen’s campaign here!

Stephany Rose Spaulding

• Democratic candidate running for 5th district, competing against a male opponent. 
• Stephany is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Stephany’s campaign here!

FLORIDA

Florida has 11 female candidates running for Congress. This is the highest number among all swing states! However, none of them are favored to win—but four are in competitive race.

Kristen Carlson

• Democratic candidate running for 15th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Kristen is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• Check out Kristen’s campaign here!

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell

• Democratic candidate running for 26th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Debbie is going against an incumbent opponent, but nevertheless challenging him in a competitive race.
• Check out Debbie’s campaign here!

Maria E. Salazar

• Republican candidate running for 27th district, competing against a female opponent: Donna Shalala
• Maria is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• Check out Maria’s campaign here!

Donna Shalala

• Democratic candidate running for 27th district, competing against a female opponent: Maria E. Salazar.
• Donna is in a competitive race, running for a vacated Republican seat.
• She is known to have long ties to the Clintons and has received the Presidential medal of Freedom from President Bush.
• Check out Donna’s campaign and what she has to say.

Jennifer Zimmerman

• Democratic candidate running for 1st district, competing against a male opponent.
• Jennifer is a first-time candidate.
• Check out Jennifer’s campaign here!

Yvonne Hayes Hinson

• Democratic candidate running for 3rd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Yvonne’s campaign here!

Virginia Fuller

• Republican candidate running for 5th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Virginia’s campaign here!

Nancy E. Soderberg

• Democratic candidate running for 6th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is a former US representative at UN and was at Clinton National Security Aide.
• Check out Nancy’s campaign here!

Dana Cottrell

• Democratic candidate running for 11th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Dana’s campaign here!

Lauren Baer

• Democratic candidate running for 18th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Lauren’s campaign here!

Mary Barzee Flores

• Democratic candidate running for 25th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She was nominated to be a federal judge by President Obama, but was blocked by a Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
• Check out Mary’s campaign here!

MICHIGAN 

Michigan has eight female candidates running for Congress. One is favored to win, three are in competitive race, and four are not favored to win.

Rashida Tlaib

• Democratic candidate running for 13th district, competing against a female opponent.
• Rashida is favored to win.
• She is a former state representative
• If Rashida is elected, she will be the first Muslim women in Congress.
• Check out Rashida’s campaign here!

Elissa Slotkin

• Democratic candidate running for 8th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Elissa is in competitive race.
• She is a former CIA analyst and veteran of Iraq. She also worked on the national security staff under President Bush and Obama
• Check out Elissa’s campaign here!

Haley Stevens

• Democratic candidate running for 11th district, competing against a female opponent, Lena Epstein.
• Haley is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• She was endorsed by Hillary Clinton
• Check out Haley’s campaign here.

Lena Epstein

• Republican candidate running for 11th district, competing against a female candidate, Haley Stevens.
• Lena is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• Check out Lena’s campaign here!

Cathy Albro

• Democratic candidate running for 3rd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Cathy is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Cathy’s campaign here!

Gretchen D. Driskell

• Democratic candidate running for 7th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Gretchen’s campaign here.

Candius Stearns

• Republican candidate running for 9th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is competing in a district that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
• Check out Candius’s campaign here.

Kimberly Bizon

• Democratic candidate running for 10th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Kimberly is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Kimberly’s campaign here!

NEVADA

Nevada has two female candidates running for Congress. 

Susie Lee

• Democratic candidate running for 3rd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Susie is in a competitive race, competing in what is considered Nevada’s most competitive House district.
• She’s a philanthropist.
• Check out Susie’s campaign here!

Joyce F. Bentley

• Republican candidate running for 1st district, competing against a female opponent.
• Joyce is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Joyce’s campaign here!

NEW MEXICO

New Mexico has four female candidates running for Congress. One is favored to win and two are in competitive race.

Deb Haaland

• Democratic candidate running for 1st district, competing against a female opponent, Janice Arnold-Jones.
• If Deb is elected, she will be the first Native American women in Congress.
• She is the chairman of the Native American Democratic Caucus of New Mexico
• Check out Deb’s campaign here!

Xochitl Torres-Smal

• Democratic candidate running for 2nd district, competing against a female opponent, Yvette Herrell.
• Xochitl is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• She is a former Senate staff
• Whether she wins or not, this district will be represented by a woman for the first time!
• Check out Xochitl’s campaign here!

Yvette Herrell 

• Republican candidate running for 2nd district, running against a female opponent, Xochitl Torres-Small.
• She is a State legislator
• Whether she wins or not, this district will be represented by woman for the first time.
• Check out Yvette’s campaign here!

Janice Arnold-Jones

• Republican candidate running for 1st district, competing against a female opponent, Deb Haaland.
• Check out Janice’s campaign here!

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina has four female candidates running for Congress.

Linda Coleman

• Democratic candidate running for 2nd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Linda is in an unexpected and tight competitive race against an incumbent candidate.
• She is a former Wake County Commissioner
• Check out Linda’s campaign here!

Kathy Manning

• Democratic candidate running for 13th district, competing against a male candidate.
• Kathy is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race. She won 70% of votes in the primary election.
• She is a former immigration lawyer.
• Check out Kathy’s campaign here.

Denise D. “DD” Adams

• Democratic candidate running for 5th district, competing against a female opponent.
• Check out Denise’s campaign here!

Kyle Horton

• Democratic candidate running for 7th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Kyle’s campaign here!

OHIO

Ohio has eight female candidates running for Congress.

Jill Schiller

• Democratic candidate running for 2nd district, competing against a male opponent.
• Jill is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Jill’s campaign here!

Janet Garrett

• Democratic candidate running for 4th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Janet is not favored to win.
• Check out Janet’s campaign here!

Shawna Roberts

• Democratic candidate running for 6th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Shawna’s campaign here!

Vanessa Enoch

• Democratic candidate running for 8th district, competing against a male candidate.
• Check out Vanessa’s campaign and what she has to say.

Theresa Gasper

• Democratic candidate running for 10th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Theresa’s campaign here!

Beverly Goldstein

• Republican candidate running for 11th district, competing against a female opponent.
• Check out Beverly’s campaign here!

Betsy Rader

• Democratic candidate running fro 14th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Betsy’s campaign and what she has to say.

Susan Moran Palmer

• Democratic candidate running for 16th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Susan’s campaign here!

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania has eight female candidates running for Congress. Pennsylvania has the highest number of female candidates favored to win. If any one of the 8 female candidates in Pennsylvania gets elected, it would be a break of all-male delegation of the state.

Madeleine Dean

• Democratic candidate running for 4th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Madeleine beat a former congressman in primary elections and is favored to win.
• She is a state legislator
• Check out Madeleine’s campaign here!

Mary Gay Scanlon

• Democratic candidate running for 5th district, competing against a female opponent, Pearl Kim.
• She is a pro-bono lawyer; she works on pay equity for women, assistance for women fleeing violence and persecution.
• Check out Mary’s campaign here!

Chrissy Houlahan

• Democratic candidate running for 6th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is a former high school chemistry teacher/Air Force captain
• Check out Chrissy’s campaign here!

Susan Wild

• Democratic candidate running for 7th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Susan is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race.
• Check out Susan’s campaign here.

Pearl Kim

• Republican candidate running for 5th district, competing against a female opponent, Mary Gay Scanlon.
• Check out Pearls’ campaign here.

Jessica King

• Democratic candidate running for 11th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Jessica’s campaign and what she has to say.

Bibiana Boerio

• Democratic candidate running for 14th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Bibiana’s campaign here!

Susan Boser

• Democratic candidate running for 15th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Susan is a first-time candidate and is not favored to win.
• Check out Susan’s campaign here!

VIRGINIA

Virginia has six female candidates running for Congress. 

Elaine G. Luria

• Democratic candidate running for 2nd district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is a military veteran who served in the US Navy.
• Check out Elaine’s campaign here.

Leslie Cockburn

• Democratic candidate running for 5th district, competing against a male opponent.
• She is a former journalist who worked for “60 Minutes” and “Frontline.”
• Check out Leslie’s campaign here.

Abigail Spanberger

• Democratic candidate running for 7th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Abigail is a first-time candidate and is in a competitive race. She won the primaries against male candidate of similar background who said her gender would give her “an edge.”
• She is a former CIA operative.
• Check out Abigail’s campaign here.

Jennifer Wexton

• Democratic candidate running for 10th district against a female opponent.
• Jennifer is in a competitive race, which is said to be one of the most closely watched elections in the nation
• She won 42% of votes in primaries.
• Check out Jennifer’s campaign here.

Vangie Williams 

• Democratic candidate running for 1st district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Vangie’s campaign here.

Jennifer L. Lewis

• Democratic candidate running for 6th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Jennifer’s campaign here.

WISCONSIN

Wisconsin has one female candidate running for Congress. 

Margaret R. Engebretson

• Democratic candidate running for 7th district, competing against a male opponent.
• Check out Margaret’s campaign here.

And check out this reminder from @kruckcarrie on Twitter. Thanks for this info!

And that’s a wrap! Make sure to cast your vote on November 6! Want to plan a post-voting brunch with your vinas? Hop over to the Hey! VINA app now to plan it!