Women take the lead in running for presidency in 2020

03/03/2019

       Democrats are lining up to be their party's nominee for the presidential election in 2020, including five women who have made big splashes. Leading the way, so far, are Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Tulsi Gabbard, and Amy Klobuchar. While it's too early to say who will win the race, it is not too early to take a look at these women who all presumably want to finish what Hillary Clinton started 

       Kamala Harris is the junior U.S. senator for California. She was elected in 2017. Harris is a former district attorney in San Francisco and state prosecutor. She is known for her support for movements such as the Green New Deal and wants Medicare to be granted to all people. Harris is a graduate of Howard University in Washington D.C. and has a law degree from UC-Hastings College of Law. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

      Elizabeth Warren is the senior U.S. senator for Massachusetts, having been elected in 2013. She is a 1976 graduate of Rutgers Law School. Warren is a supporter of abortion rights and supports funding of abortions. She is an advocate for women receiving equal rights and the enforcement of wage discrimination based on gender. 

       Kirsten Gillibrand is another attorney. She is the junior U.S. senator from New York having been appointed to the seat in 2009 that was previously held by Hillary Clinton. Prior to that, Gillibrand had been a member of the U.S. house of representative for New York since 2007. Gillibrand helped in passing a bill that legalized same-sex marriage in New York in 2011. 

       Tulsi Gabbard is a Democrat from Hawaii and is the current U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd Congressional district. Tulsi supported the 2016 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders. She has been called an economic and social progressive. She is also a supporter of health care for all Americans. In an interview with CNN she mentioned criminal justice reform and climate change as being her key issues. Gabbard is known also for her views on foreign policy and said that "war and peace" will be her central focus.

       Amy Klobuchar is the U.S. Senator from Minnesota. She was elected in 2006. Klobuchar is a graduate of Yale University and then the University of Chicago Law School. She plans on challenging the so-called divisive nature of politics. She is looking to challenge economic ineqaulity, the changing climate, and tumult in the world. At least two men. senators Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders have announced their candidacies. But it is this increase in the number of women candidates that promises to make an interesting election season. More women choosing to run in this election might mean that the chance of having a woman for president increases. Or, this may be end like the previous cases of women running for president... they lose. 

       However, society is becoming more progressive each day. So, the possibilities of a woman president may become the new trend. Who would had ever thought that television personality and businessman Donald J. Trump would become president?        

      Nevertheless, Trump won the presidential electoral college in 2016 and became America's 45th president. Anything is possible. Meanwhile, Nevada just made history by being the first state in seating the first female-majority state legislature. Next to Nevada's female-majority statehouse, the Colorado House is made of 50 percent women, according to CNBC. History is being made. 

       The role of women is such an essential force in the American society. Women have been traditionally viewed as "nurturing, caring, and domestic" workers. However, that stereotype has changed over the past century. Women are beginning to dominate the labor force and own more businesses than before, challenging the glass ceiling that has hung over women's heads. 

        U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi showed in her faceoff with Trump that women do not back down to a challenge. Women have proven to be bold and stand firmly in what they believe in. Most of the women who have chosen to run, thus far, have some experience in law, politics, and foreign affairs. This is something voters can count on as the 2020 presidential election approaches. There is a trust factor being set between the people and the candidates because each of the women exudes experience in the U.S. legislative branch. By Ashlyn Denson Interim Editor Kamala Harris Elizabeth Warren Kirsten Gillibrand Tulsi Gabbard Amy Klobuchar Photos courtesy of WikiCommons and U.S. Senate website