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Tags: female candidates | 2018 midterm elections | texas primaries

Female Candidates Way Up as Midterm Primaries Begin

Female Candidates Way Up as Midterm Primaries Begin

Gina Ortiz Jones, Candidate for Texas' 23rd Congressional District. (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

By    |   Sunday, 04 March 2018 06:14 PM EST

Midterm elections officially kick off this week as voters go the polls in primaries in Texas, where a record number of at least 50 women are running for congressional seats, ABC News reported on Sunday.

It is part of a women's movement that is apparently on the rise, as nationally there are more than 400 female congressional candidates, which is double the number just two years ago.

Texas is certainly symbolic of the trend, as the state currently has only three of its 36 congressional districts represented by women.

Although there are plenty of female conservatives running, part of the inspiration for so many women candidates is a reaction to what many say is President Donald Trump's divisiveness.

"How dare he talk about my heritage and my community in that way?" asked Judy Canales, a Democrat and Latina, who is running in Texas' 23rd district, adding, "I cannot believe our country went in this direction, and so we've got to do something better."

Another woman in that race is Gina Ortiz Jones, who last year was working for the Trump administration but is now running in the Democratic primary against his agenda, asserting that the president took actions that were harmful to women and minority groups.

She said it was not surprising that the people who have the most to lose "have stepped up said, 'You know what? I'm done assuming that someone is going to do for me that what I can do for myself.'"

Texas is also setting a state record for the most number of LGBTQ people running for office, according to OutSmart Magazine.

The at least 49 openly LGBTQ candidates is more than double the previous record.

In general, enthusiasm in the state has been high, as Texans also set a record for early voting numbers this year, with more than 600,000 ballots already cast, the Laredo Morning Times reported.

Democrats have so far outvoted Republicans by more than 25,000 ballots since early voting began, the first time this has happened in Texas in a decade.

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Politics
Midterm elections officially kick off this week as voters go the polls in primaries in Texas, where a record number of at least 50 women are running for congressional seats, ABC News reported on Sunday.It is part of a women's movement that is apparently on the rise, as...
female candidates, 2018 midterm elections, texas primaries
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2018-14-04
Sunday, 04 March 2018 06:14 PM
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