Election Analysis and Candidate Discussion
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 at an advantage running in a “woman friendly district.” Fluke certainly was strategic about where and when she decided to run. According to CAWP’s Palmer and Simon, LA held perfect conditions for a democratic white woman to run and win, “White democratic women are elected from districts that are more liberal, urban, educated, diverse, and higher income than democratic men.” In addition to prime regional demographics, California’s 26th district seat was left wide open after Ted Lieu resigned to run for Henry Waxman’s seat.
Ben Allen and Sandra Fluke held many similar views and rarely disagreed on a policy values, yet Allen won due to his superior political experience and firm local roots. Not having any prior electoral experience or much experience in LA politics proved to be disastrous for Fluke’s campaign. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Fluke only moved to LA about six years ago and only became active in LA politics two years ago. On the other hand Ben Allen is a Californian native and has been a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu school board for six years. Both candidates raised over 1 million for their campaigns. Well known in the community, Allen was able to finance his campaign with a majority of local endorsements, while Fluke’s endorsements came mostly from out of state. This fact can be seen as a reflection of the strength of local support each candidate held. Ben Allen provided a better descriptive representation of his constituents than Fluke, having the advantage of native roots this was shown in his ability and Fluke’s inability to gain local endorsements. Substantively Allen and Fluke held similar views, but Allen had another advantage of prior political experience. Allen was a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board for six years, granting him electoral experience and legitimacy as an effective candidate.
Sandra’s whole claim to fame began when Rush Limbaugh slut shamed her on radio for testifying in favor of contraceptive coverage before congress. In a patriarchal society built upon Christian foundations, women are commonly perceived as either virtuous or promiscuous leaving very little room in-between. The male gender has the more socially accepted ability to sleep around without social retribution. By advocating for contraceptive coverage Fluke opened herself to an onslaught of misogynistic commentary that would not have been as violent had she been a male advocating for contraceptive coverage to protect male interests. Generally men are expected to partake in sexual activities whereas discussion of women partaking in intercourse has been stigmatized. It is important to recognize that Allen did not oppose Fluke’s contraceptive coverage plan, perhaps as a strategic move to avoid the heat. Nonetheless, Allen did not oppose contraceptive coverage and did not gain negative media as a result. Here I found gender bias where the media chose to harass Fluke for challenging gender constructs and promote negative responses, while letting Allen’s agreement go unnoticed.
Although there are many areas that I could point to explain Fluke’s defeat, her lack of local and political experience coupled with negative gender-bias media coverage are debatably the main reasons for Fluke's failure. LA held optimal climate conditions for Fluke to run; however, the truth is, disregarding gender, a more experienced and capable opponent defeated Sandra Fluke. If Fluke decides to run again, I believe she will fair better the next time around.
