Gender Wars Advance Toward Election Day

There’s a legion of female military veterans running as Democrats this midterm cycle, and they outnumber female veteran Republican candidates an astounding 57 to 28. Having almost two Democratic candidates for every Republican in this demographic is perplexing. Veterans are a reliably Republican group, and the far left that finds a home in the Democratic Party is often the most critical of American military power. But the numbers are there, and the Democrats even have a marquee group of candidates dubbed the “Hell Cats” that represents the face of this new movement.

It’s smart politics to run a veteran for either party. The military is still one of the few U.S. institutions viewed positively by most voters, Republicans and Democrats alike. Democrats are hoping that candidates with military experience can brush aside voter worries about left-wing extremism. But the disproportionate female representation of the candidates sticks out oddly; it suggests that Democrats are still catering to the left-wing identitarian politics that they’re pretending to leave behind.

About the Author

Skyler Safriet

Skyler Safriet is a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism for National Review. She is a graduate of Boston College, where she studied philosophy and competed as a heptathlete in track and field.

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There’s a legion of female military veterans running as Democrats this midterm cycle, and they outnumber female veteran Republican candidates an astounding 57 to 28. Having almost two Democratic candidates for every Republican in this demographic is perplexing. Veterans are a reliably Republican group, and the far left that finds a home in the Democratic Party is often the most critical of American military power. But the numbers are there, and the Democrats even have a marquee group of candidates dubbed the “Hell Cats” that represents the face of this new movement.

It’s smart politics to run a veteran for either party. The military is still one of the few U.S. institutions viewed positively by most voters, Republicans and Democrats alike. Democrats are hoping that candidates with military experience can brush aside voter worries about left-wing extremism. But the disproportionate female representation of the candidates sticks out oddly; it suggests that Democrats are still catering to the left-wing identitarian politics that they’re pretending to leave behind.

About the Author

Skyler Safriet

Skyler Safriet is a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism for National Review. She is a graduate of Boston College, where she studied philosophy and competed as a heptathlete in track and field.