January 22, 2019
NEWS & NOTES
A newsletter from the nation's leading source on all things women and politics, the Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University.

One Week Away! Rebecca Traister and Brittney Cooper Talk Politics, Power, and Anger
Rebecca Traister and Brittney Cooper
One week from today, Rebecca Traister and Brittney Cooper will meet on the Rutgers University-New Brunswick campus for The Political Power of Women's Anger, a discussion with Q&A and book signing. The event will be held at Trayes Hall in the Douglass Student Center and will begin at 6pm ET (note time change from original 7pm start). Can't make it to New Brunswick on a Tuesday evening? You're in luck! The discussion will also be livestreamed on CAWP's Facebook page, so tune in, follow along, and join the conversation online. More details and registration information can be found here.
PAC Woman
The experiences and lessons of 2018 are already changing how women will approach 2020, and two new PACs focused on supporting women candidates have launched in recent weeks. Liuba Grechen Shirley, who fell short in a 2018 congressional bid but made news for a successful appeal to the FEC to allow campaign funds to be used for campaign-related child care expenses, has launched Vote Mama, a PAC focused on supporting the political aspirations of women with young children. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, responding to the crisis-levels of women's representation in the GOP, has pivoted her E-PAC into Elevate PAC to serve the mission of identifying and supporting Republican women candidates from the pre-primary stage on. Her launch event, held last week, convened Republican congressional leadership, women Members of Congress, former candidates, and party activists and operatives to discuss the challenge facing the GOP and how to change the trajectory for women in the Republican Party.
2019 Women of Power Networking Reception
On Monday, February 25th, the Center for American Women and Politics will host its annual networking reception to benefit its nonpartisan leadership programs for New Jersey women. Held at Marsilio's Kitchen in West Trenton, the reception is co-hosted by New Jersey's Congresswomen, the Lieutenant Governor, and the women of the New Jersey Legislature. Proceeds from this event support CAWP's Ready to Run® and NEW Leadership TM programs. Joining the event as a sponsor comes with special advantages, including recognition at the reception and at CAWP's leadership programs. Individual tickets are also available. Come. Join us. Meet and mingle with other women of power. Support the next generation of powerful women.
If you're reading this, political equality for women is already a priority for you.

The next step is investing in this mission. 

Make a gift today, or contact Sue Nemeth to learn how you can leave a lasting legacy at CAWP at 848-932-8593 or gsnemeth@eagleton.rutgers.edu.

  
About Those Leadership Programs
How Rutgers is getting women

CAWP's New Jersey nonpartisan leadership training programs, Ready to Run® and NEW Leadership TM, are both gearing up for their 2019 conferences. Ready to Run®, CAWP's campaign training program for women, will be held in March 15-16 in New Brunswick, NJ. Whether you've already determined that you'll be running for office or you're seeking deeper political engagement, Ready to Run® can give you the skills and information to take your next step into politics. Registration is now open. Designed for college women, NEW Leadership TM offers practical political education as well as opportunities to engage with women currently working in politics and government. NEW Leadership TM is open to women of all majors, and applications are being accepted now.
In Theaters Now: An Acceptable Loss
Now playing in New York's IFC Center and opening this Friday the 25th in select theaters nationwide, An Acceptable Loss is a political thriller starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter as women grappling with the exercise of power in extreme circumstances. Executive produced by CAWP friend and supporter Candy Straight, and co-produced by Gail Gordon, another CAWP friend and supporter, An Acceptable Loss is also available On Demand and on iTunes and Amazon. So learn more about this ambitious film that Rolling Stone called a must-see, watch the trailer , and check out this exclusive clip on Bustle . A special screening of the film followed by a Q&A with Candy Straight will be held at the Clairidge Cinemas in Montclair, NJ on January 30th at 6:30pm-- register here.





Madams President

Only once in history has more than one woman competed in the same party's presidential primary process, when Shirley Chisholm and Patsy Takemoto Mink both ran in the 1972 Democratic primary. Chisholm campaigned nationwide and received delegates at that year's Democratic National Convention, while Mink appeared on the ballot in only one state.

The 2020 election is already set to make history.

Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand have announced the formation of exploratory committees, Kamala Harris has launched her 2020 campaign, Tulsi Gabbard told CNN she plans to run as well, and a number of other formidable potential candidates are rumored to be mulling an entrance into the race.

Journalists are turning to CAWP in this history-making moment. Janet Hook of The Los Angeles Times wrote about the entry of Kirsten Gillibrand and cited CAWP's historical information in her piece. CBS interviewed CAWP's Kelly Dittmar about how having multiple women running may change the dynamic of the race. Dittmar was also interviewed in an Associated Press article that looks at several of the women-centered organizations in the Democratic coalition and how they're reacting to multiple women candidates in the race.
 
116th Congress In Focus

With the arrival of the largest group of congresswomen in history, as well as the largest freshman class of women ever, news organizations are taking stock of the moment. The New York Times put together a photo series of nearly all the women serving in Congress, with each regional edition of the paper highlighting a different congresswomen, and opted to pose and photograph the women in ways that are evocative of the traditional presentations of male power. Politico, meanwhile, photographed an interviewed all 36 of the freshman women in Congress, and compiled the results into an interactive photo series and short video. The documentary team at The Washington Post chose two history-making freshman legislators to follow as they first entered office this month, and the resulting 20 minute documentary shows Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women in the U.S. Congress, and Ayanna Pressley, the first Black woman elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress, as they navigate the first days of their new life as legislators.

The next election is already on the horizon, and there's still work to be done along the long path to political equality, but taking time to celebrate the women of 2018 is just the inspiration we need to keep moving forward.
CAWP Calendar

Center for American Women and Politics
Eagleton Institute of Politics
Rutgers University | New Brunswick
191 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8557
(848) 932-9384 - Fax: (732) 932-6778