OnPolitics: Republican women want 2022 to be their year

Sean Rossman and Amy Nakamura, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas, who is running for reelection, speaks at a campaign event on Oct. 10.

What will we remember when we look back on the 2022 midterm elections? Will Nov. 8, 2022, be the election that the GOP reclaimed the House and Senate or that Democrats fended them off? Nail-biter finishes in state governors races?

Republican women candidates hope it’s the year they banded together, spread out their campaign cash, and unseated Democratic opponents.

But that task involves competing against oftentimes better-funded and better-organized Democratic women groups, USA TODAY political reporters Erin Mansfield and Savannah Kuchar found.

Hi, it's Sean Rossman, USA TODAY Politics editor. I sat down with Erin and Savannah, who shared the differences between Republican women candidates and Democratic women candidates, plus which are the races to watch.

Here's what they told me:

Sean: Republican women and Democratic women are approaching their races much differently. What stood out to you most?

Erin: Just like male Democrats this election cycle, Democratic women are putting their abortion rights platform front and center.

This is a clear reaction to this summer’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, but it’s also part of the nature of their funding: The main groups that help Democratic women run for office require their endorsees to agree with them on abortion.

While many of the Republican women we looked at do say they are anti-abortion on their websites, and in this day and age being anti-abortion is a litmus test to be a Republican, the Republican women are not focusing on that issue at all. They are focusing on Republican talking points like inflation and border security.

Savannah: Female candidates in both parties have to contend with gender stereotypes, but it impacts how they’re received by voters differently from left to right.

There’s this idea that women running for office, even as Republicans, will be naturally more liberal. Of course, we’re seeing women like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert who have a very conservative reputation, and our experts said these stereotypes may be fading out as Republican candidates today are tending to be more ideologically conservative than in the past.

Sean: What is one thing readers should take away from your story?

Erin: There are a lot more Democratic women in Congress than Republican women, and there’s a lot more of an organized effort out there to elect the Democratic women. At the same time, there are plenty of Republican women out there who want to be in Congress, and they’re putting together the infrastructure they need to win those seats.

Savannah: Women on both sides of the aisle stand to play a significant role in this year’s midterms. Several female candidates are in some of the most competitive races in the country and we already saw in 2020 how they were leading GOP efforts to flip congressional seats.

Sean: Knowing what you know, what races will you be paying attention to next week?

Erin: For Congress, I’ll be watching: Jen Kiggans vs. Rep. Elaine Luria in Virginia Beach because Kiggans could unseat the incumbent. Esther Joy King vs. Eric Sorensen in Illinois because it will be close. Rep. Mayra Flores vs. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in south Texas because not only will it be close, it’s a test of Republican strength in the Rio Grande Valley area. Amanda Adkins vs. Rep. Sharice Davids because it will be close, although Davids has a slight edge.

Savannah: I’ll be very interested to see what happens in Texas 34, with Mayra Flores’ race. Her special election was a pretty big upset, and her race is still very much a toss-up that could have implications for the politics of south Texas going forward.

🗳️ Learn more: Read about these races and the efforts to election Republican women.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republican women may be the real winners of the 2022 midterms