Amanda Stuck: I’m trying to show how we can work better together and being the kind of politician that doesn’t attack the other party. I’m one of the only Democrats that shows up at the conservative coalition town hall in my district, and I think it’s really important that I still show up and listen.
What would you say to voters who have reservations about voting for a woman?
Pete Buttigieg, asked by NPR about what he would say to voters with reservations voting for someone who is gay:
I think the question that voters are asking is, how’s my life going to be different if you’re president? And in order to earn votes, my job is to go out there and answer that question. And I think a lot of the other stuff falls away if and only if you have a good answer to that question.
Jasmine Clark: Why? Vote for the person who’s going to do the job and do the job correctly. Vote for the platform, not the person and it shouldn’t matter if they’re a man or woman.
Jocabed Marquez: People have these reservations about women being too emotional. I’ve found that my constituents like me being emotional, me being passionate when I’m on the dais. Even my Republican supporters connect with me because of the preservation of neighborhoods, because I fight not to have these developers come into our town.
Nicole Frethem: You’ve got two options. You can either say bye, because if you’re the sort of person who’s going to be like ‘I’m not gonna vote for a woman,’ I’m not going to change your mind and I could probably do more good talking to someone else. But there’s the other alternative of asking ‘why would you say that,’ and it’s that strategy people tell you to use when someone tells an offensive joke and you say ‘why is that funny can you explain that to me?’ It’s harder to have that conversation with someone who’s like I have no problem voting for a woman, I just don’t like her voice, or she gives me a bad vibe, or whatever it is, when it’s coded.
Jessica Hembree: I most frequently heard you can’t possibly be old enough to run, which I learned only happens when I have my hair in a ponytail. But older women voters in our community would say I’m so happy for you, I could have never even dreamed of doing what you’re doing when I was younger, and I love hearing that.
Aja Brown: The majority of voters are women, so it’s really about connecting with one another and challenging perceptions by countering them with facts. Women have historically been effective leaders, and pragmatic. When people second guess the ability of women to lead, I always challenge them because women have such a prevalent position in our family structures.