It is not often that I am made explicitly aware of my sex. Quite possibly, the sexism which I most frequently experience is subliminal. My life is sheltered. I am surrounded by good people — people who care; people who are conscious and perceptive and giving; people who shelter me in terms of what I am exposed to or from the pain which I barely know.
But, last weekend, in Cleveland, Ohio, crouched in the backseat of my Uber driver’s Honda Civic (for simplicity sake, I will refer to him henceforth as the anonymous, “John”), I discovered my gender. And though discovery may seem like a strong word, I cannot describe it as anything other than realization. A realization of the implications of my sex, of how my femininity is perceived, of how being a woman, in our society, is concrete. Defined. I did not know how unalterable my gender was.
Ohio is among a number of states with tight Senate and gubernatorial races that pose potentially key wins in 2026 for the Democratic Party. Bowling Green State University polling reports Democratic candidate Sherrod Brown leads by six percentage points against incumbent Republican senator Jon Husted. Amy Acton, Ohio’s Democratic nominee for governor and former director of public health, leads Vivek Ramaswamy by similar margins.
I’m not sure how our conversation started, but, a few minutes into our ride, it became clear that John had fallen victim to the media.
After referencing a Super PAC attack ad in circulation, inaccurately claiming Brown voted in support of irreversible sex changes for minors, John said: “Sherrow Brow — is that his name? I doubt I’ll be voting for him.”
The ad features biological female, Soren Aldaco, who consented to a double mastectomy at a clinic in Austin, Texas as an adult. Aldaco has no connection to Brown, Ohio, or operations on the youth transgender community.
When John was made aware of these facts, he brushed it off with a joke.
“Maybe I’ll just vote for a woman.”
He laughed.
“Women are some of the strongest leaders we know,” the car chimed in, “Intelligent, introspective, and capable.”
But, he doubled down, “Really? I don’t think a woman can lead. Or at least, not well.”
We live in a world where trustworthy information can be difficult to find. Politics is an echo chamber. Opinions and facts are evermore segregated. I wasn’t surprised someone saw blind truth in a false campaign; but observing a person so easily, so directly, so rashly assert the ineptitude of all women, was a fresh wound.
With just a few sentences, John suggested a woman’s insufficiency. He encouraged comparison. He endorsed with such vehemence and conviction that some tasks are innately impossible, for a reason as arbitrary as sex — that one tiny X chromosome made me, made four billion other people, inadequate.
So, in defiance of this delusion, and in anticipation of election day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, I’m spotlighting three women running for office, beginning with Minnesota Lieutenant Governor, Peggy Flanagan.
According to The Hill, Flanagan leads her Republican opponent, Michele Tafoya, by four percentage points, though this is within the poll’s margin of error. Flanagan was significantly involved in dismantling Operation Metro Surge, a massive deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement federal agents across the Twin Cities, culminating in the arrests of an estimated four thousand undocumented immigrants, legal residents, and U.S. citizens. Flanagan established the operation in partnership with Governor Tim Walz, which probed and recorded ICE’s impact via executive order.
In Georgia, the former Atlanta Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, looks to turn a Republican seat, currently held by term-limited governor, Brian Kemp. According to InsiderAdvantage, Bottoms polls two percentage points behind her conservative opponent, Rick Jackson. Bottoms was endorsed by Barack Obama and Joe Biden. If elected, she would be the first Black female governor in U.S. history.
Bottoms’s record includes documented support for a temporary pause on data center construction, efforts to expand voting accessibility, and the prohibition of the Atlanta jail’s possession of ICE detainees. Bottoms issued the Drive Plan, part of her economic relief blueprint, which, according to reporting by CBS, proposes 2.5 percent fuel and car insurance tax cuts that would save families with two vehicles around 140 dollars a year.
Returning to Ohio, Amy Acton, a Democrat from Youngstown, is running for governor against her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy gained national attention after campaigning in the 2024 Presidential Primary and was later selected to lead DOGE alongside Elon Musk, although he eventually stepped down.
Ramaswamy continues to advocate for pro-life policy, resulting in endorsements from the Ohio Right to Life doctors’ PAC. He supports the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in higher education and favors expanding traditional energy production and fossil fuels. His pledge to deliver free electricity to residents via data centers is widely criticised as impractical and economically undefined.
By contrast, Acton runs on a pro-choice platform, though she remains relatively moderate in many of her approaches and is careful to separate herself from political characterizations as a radical DEI supporter. Still, Acton advocates for anti-discrimination policies regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, and religion.
As Election Day approaches, these women, along with many other candidates, mark a significant effort to include more diverse voices in politics. To find more female, democratic, pro-choice candidates on the ballot, visit “emilyslist.org/state-and-local-candidates/.” To learn more about women running for elected office, regardless of political affiliation, visit “cawp.rutgers.edu/data/candidates-women-candidates-2026.”
~ Maya Corrie `29
Be First to Comment