A potentially record-breaking 'pink wave' of anti-Trump women could run for office in 2018
- A large number of women could run for state governor jobs in 2018.
- There are strong indications that women candidates are being boosted by the #MeToo movement.
- A new wave of Democrats, potentially led by women, looks increasingly capable of taking winning the legislature from Republicans in 2018.
The millions of magenta-hat-wearing women who took to the streets for the Women's Marches in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's election and the defeat of the first female major US candidate look poised to take back state and national offices.
While known female politicians have made their voices heard throughout the "me too" movement, TIME's Charlotte Alter reports that a potentially record-doubling number of women, 79, are considering running for governor in 2018.
The same report details that women candidates for the House of Representatives have shot up a 350%.
Since 2016, 900 women have contacted Emily's List, which trains pro-choice Democratic candidates, and 26,000 women have reached out about starting campaigns.
The swell in female interest in running for office follows a string of Democratic wins, most notably in Alabama, where black female voters turned out in large numbers to give the state its first Democratic senator in years and shut out Roy Moore, the GOP candidate who stood accused of sexual misconduct with minors.
Though not all women vote for Democrats, the movement seems to have taken root in progressive circles.
Borrowing from the pink hats worn at the Women's Marches, Alter muses that the grassroots movement of women demanding representation could be called the "pink wave."
While Trump continues to campaign for Republican candidates for the House, it seems increasingly likely that Democrats, possibly led by women, could retake the legislature in 2018.