Kyrsten Sinema

[pols-338-wdavis]

Wendy Davis lost to Greg Abbott on Tuesday by nearly sixteen percent of the vote. Wendy Davis’ loss does not come as a surprise in terms of the fact that Texas hasn’t had a Democratic governor since the 1990’s. According to Nia Malika Henderson from The Washington Post with Davis’ loss came the…

[pols-338-mendoza-deactivated201]

My candidate, along with Davis, also had an opponent that had a lot more money to spend one their campaign. Though unlike Davis, I don’t believe the nature of his campaign was to attack my candidate. Regardless, I think Davis was subjected to the struggle of balancing characteristics, as many women in politics are. She received criticism for not being firm in her beliefs, but I think we can all agree that had she given off a stronger persona, it would have been seen as coming across as a bitch. It’s sad to see that someone attempting to promote benefits for all kinds of people wouldn’t fare well in a state like Texas, though it’s not the least bit surprising. I do have to give Davis credit for running her campaign, and despite the history of conservative beliefs in Texas, sticking to her more liberal agenda.

[pols-338-sinema]

I think Wendy Davis lost because she was in Texas. The "problem" is that she leaned too blatantly on the liberal agenda for district in Texas that has a history of conservative priorities. It is so interesting that she got so much support from minority groups/women and lost so much support from white women- who are the epitome of her descriptive representation. A much as I like Davis and her blatant admission of her choices, I don't consider her a very smart politician with respect to her circumstances/constituency. My candidate, Sinema, is a bi-sexual democrat who has won over a republican district twice because she knows how to focus and downplay certain aspects of her personal life. It is a testament to how important being "political" really is if one wants a chance to carry out their substantive representation.

[pols-338-mendoza-deactivated201]

Sandra Mendoza lost her electoral race for assembly receiving 23.6% of the votes, placing her second amongst her other three opponents. Though a bit disappointing, the end result is not entirely surprising. Her primary opponent was also Latino, an advantage within the majority-minority district,…

[pols-338-ybarra]

Obviously the financial difference had a large impact on this race, but I also wonder how much of a difference it was between running against two other candidates rather than only one.  Without a third person, I wonder if she would have been more successful, or if there would have been more available funds to support her in her race. I don’t believe that she would have seen the results of this campaign as a shock, and if she decides to run in the future how she will change her tactics.

[pols-338-sinema]

I wonder what percentage of votes the winning incumbent received because Mendoza's 23.6% is a very low percentage. I'm not convinced that the subtraction of the third candidate would've made much of a difference in Mendoza's defeat. It is clear this was a tough race to run considering the fund disparity and Mendoza's lack of reputation in the community. I would be interested to see if she decides to run again after she gains a bit more recognition because I feel she will do much better if she runs again with more community backing, specifically groups to help fund her campaign.

[pols-338-fluke]

Sandra Fluke endured a tremendous defeat to fellow democrat Ben Allen in her run for California’s 26th district representative seat, losing by a whooping 60.8% to 39.2%.

Given that Sandra ran for an open seat in an urban majority-minority liberal region, CAWP’s research suggests that Fluke was...

[pols-338-sinema]

Its not really a surprise that she was crushed in this election considering her opponent, Ben Allen, was also a democrat with similar views but with much more experience and local roots. However, the petty media slams are very annoying. I see your reference to the Nagel reading in that Fluke was an easy target for gender-bias in a patriarchal society. It is unfair that she was a victim of slut-shaming for her advocacy of contraceptives while her opponent, who did not oppose contraceptives, was left alone. It's even more bizarre considering she was in a committed relationship. Another interesting aspect of her campaign is that her funding came from out-of-state. As adequate as she may be, it's clear that her lack of connection to the community is one of the most hurtful factors in her loss to Allen.

[pols-338-sinema]

Democrat incumbent Krysten Sinema is victorious once again in the 2014 election to represent Arizona’s 9th district in the House of Representatives. Although she is a democrat in a republican district, she won by a solid 54% majority against her main competitor, republican Wendy Rodgers (40%). Her republican counterpart did not run a very strong campaign being that she would not bring the campaign to the live public. She refused to publicly debate Sinema and instead decided to attack her mostly through the use of commercials and other forms of media. Sinema is well known in her district and has many ties to the community through her advocacy for various groups she has supported throughout her previous terms; therefore, she was a shoe-in for re-election.

Certain aspects of Sinema’s platform fit nicely with the observations made by the CAWP and Reynolds articles.  For example, she started as a social worker and has the “protection of the family” as a sort of framework for her platform. Furthermore, she had a section of her campaign solely dedicated to women’s issues such as equal pay and the eradication of domestic violence. She uses her descriptive representation to it’s fullest potential when it benefits her to do so but also plays it down when it benefits her to do so. Although she is the first openly bi-sexual representative  in the House she tends to play this down as an unimportant factor so that the focus of her platform is more so about her substantive representation- how she, fights for the benefit of every member of the family (usually through financial issues) as oppose to a platform that is largely focused on LGBT rights a la Harvey Milk. Still, she aligns with Reynolds observation that just having the descriptive representation of an LGBT candidate in office means the substantive policies pushing LGBT rights will gain more support. For example, Sinema had a hand in the fight against a bill that would ban gay marriage in Arizona. She did not frame her argument in the sense that as a member of the LGBT community she felt that all people should have the same right to wed, but instead framed it around the arguments that deal with the issues of medical decision makers and tax law. In this sense she falls in line with reynolds argument but still keeps her substantive goals as the main focus.

In many respects Sinema breaks the mold when one recalls the typical factors a woman representative utilizes, according to the CAWP article, to get into office. One major aspect women candidates consider when running for office is whether or not it is a woman-friendly district. In Sinema’s case, she ran her 2012 campaign against a man as a democrat in a majority republican district and still won. Although she has shown support for “women’s issues” her substantive representation centers much more around financial benefits. In this way Sinema becomes much more representative of her district’s constituents and not just her descriptive agenda. Her rags to riches story, career as a social worker, and her connections to the military give her a lot of useful connections to center her focus on the financial stability of every member of the family. She often chooses to highlight her passed bill that advocated for more VA/veteran’s family benefits. Couple her substantive representation with her cross-cutting descriptive representation that both fit and break the mold of a typical woman candidate- White, woman, LGBT, ASU graduate, rags to riches, Iron Man competitor- and you have a candidate with the ability to represent a massive amount of the population. Congrats Krysten!!!

[kyrstensinema]

Women are the breadwinners for 40% of families. That’s why we’re fighting for equal pay for equal work.

[repsinema]

Joined General Motors for the grand opening of the GM Innovation Center in Chandler, bringing 1,000 high-tech jobs to #AZ09. (at General Motors It Innovation Center)

[pols-338-sinema]