FUQUAY-VARINA -- In the upcoming midterm elections we can look forward to many conservative women being on ballots nationwide. Currently, only four of the 17 women in the U.S. Senate are Republicans, and out of the 76 women in the House, 17 are Republicans. But these numbers are bound to change come November.
As of mid-August, the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics reported that there are six Republican women running for the Senate, 67 running for the House, and six in gubernatorial races.
In May, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin expressed her thoughts on the rising tide of conservative women at the Susan B. Anthony List's annual Celebration for Life Breakfast: "This year will be remembered as the year that common-sense conservative women get things done."
Is Palin on to something or is this just wishful thinking?
In Nevada, Senate candidate Sharron Angle has emerged as a national political figure. Although she won a closely contested primary, Angle has been criticized for her conservative viewpoints on issues such as Social Security (which she is in favor of privatizing) and her support for making the Bush tax cuts permanent. But incumbent Democratic Sen. Harry Reid's low approval ratings, as well as Angle's diverse background as a schoolteacher, assemblywoman and small business manager, are significant factors for Nevada voters. A recent Rasmussen poll shows Angle and Reid tied, each with 47 percent of the vote.
Another woman emerging in this year's elections is California's Carly Fiorina, who is challenging five-term Democrat U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in November. A recent CBS poll conducted by SurveyUSA shows Fiorina leading Boxer by 47 percent to 42 percent.
A breast cancer survivor since February 2009, Fiorina brings a unique perspective to the health care debate. In a video on her campaign website, she remarks that "After chemotherapy, Barbara Boxer isn't very scary anymore." She is adamantly pro-life and has received endorsements from the National Right to Life and the Susan B Anthony List.
In the House of Representatives, some races to keep an eye on are Renee Ellmers (in North Carolina's 2nd District), Jackie Walorski, (Ind.-2), Jaime Herrera, (Wash.-3), and Diane Black (Tenn.-6). These women are all newcomers to the national political scene, and their various backgrounds could provide advantages over their competitors.
Other women of note include South Carolina state Rep. Nikki Haley, who hopes to take disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford's seat, and Susana Martinez, a district attorney running against Lt. Gov. Diane Denish for the open governor's seat in New Mexico.
Feminism is clearly transitioning back to its original roots. At the time of the early suffragists, the movement was pro-woman, pro-family and, contrary to popular belief, pro-life. In a letter to Julia Ward Howe on Oct. 16, 1873, Elizabeth Cady Stanton compared abortion to the contempt that women often received. She wrote, "When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit."
Forty years later, Alice Paul, the original author of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was pushed by radical liberal feminists in the 1960s and '70s, called abortion the "ultimate exploitation of women."
All women today do not adhere to modern-day feminist rhetoric. I hope that through the 2010 midterm elections the truth about our pro-life foremothers will become known.
Women will definitely be an asset to the Republican Party in the mid-terms. Their unique experiences, as mothers and homemakers and natural ability to lead and get things done will garner many votes. Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister and a great conservative heroine, said "If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman."
Jessica Williford, 17, served as a congressional page in Washington from January to July.
