当国会在2018年迎来创纪录数量的女性时，这一胜利被归因于民主党的胜利。这也是民主党有色人种女性历史性的第一年。
众议员维罗妮卡·埃斯科瓦尔(Veronica Escobar)是第一批在国会代表得克萨斯州的拉丁裔人之一，她告诉美国广播公司新闻，2018年是一个“分水岭年”，因为女性“知道什么事关重大。”
第116届成为美国历史上最多元化的立法者群体，2018年被称为“女性年”
明尼苏达州众议员伊尔汉·奥马尔(Ilhan Omar)是国会中仅有的两名穆斯林女性之一，她告诉美国广播公司新闻，“2018年是很多很多女性，尤其是有色人种女性，不仅打破了天花板……(而且)打破了混凝土天花板。“我们在某种程度上打破了人们对竞选意味着什么以及谁能成为成功候选人的看法。”
新墨西哥州众议员黛比·哈兰德在接受《早安美国》采访时表示:“有些人可能从未想过，他们会看到像他们这样的人在国会拥有一席之地。”“我穿着我的土著服装...宣誓日我的pueblo服装。我只是觉得我需要表达我对我的家庭的荣誉。”
截至2020年，只有75名有色人种女性服务在美国众议院:71名民主党人和4名共和党人。五位有色人种女性，都是民主党人，曾经在参议院任职。
根据罗格斯大学美国妇女和政治中心研究主任凯利·迪特马尔的说法，“现在是2020年，我们仍在庆祝这些第一，这一事实反映了有待取得的进展。”
利用并建立支持网络
在竞选国会议员之前，埃斯科瓦尔在她的社区有着深厚的根基，她在2011年至2017年期间担任县法官。
在2018年得克萨斯州第16区的初选中，她与其他五名挑战者竞争。得克萨斯州第16区是一个坚定的蓝色西班牙裔占多数的城市地区，包括埃尔帕索市。她不得不筹集比竞争对手更多的资金，并与参与她初选的共和党超级政治行动委员会作战。
埃斯科瓦尔说:“像我这样的人，你知道，我与财富无关。“我的朋友不富裕，我的家庭也不富裕，我们是一个依靠我收入的家庭。因此，除了必须筹集这笔钱，我还必须弄清楚，如果没有收入，我和我的家人将如何生活，因为我不得不辞去我在县政府的职位来竞选。”
“阻止许多女性竞选国会议员的部分原因是，它的费用高得令人难以置信，”她补充道。
布兰代斯大学美国历史教授莉亚·赖特·里格说，性别歧视和种族主义在历史上一直将女性和有色人种女性拒之政治体系之外。当他们真的参加竞选时，他们往往被拥有财富和权力的“关系网”和“战争宝箱”的白人压倒性地超过。
研究种族和政治的里格说:“我们知道的一件事是，有色人种女性经常被劝阻参加政治竞选，因为她们没有与男性对手相匹敌的战争基金。
当被问及这些挑战以及是什么帮助她获胜时，埃斯科瓦尔指出，广泛的组织网络——主要是在民主党方面——是为了在初选早期促进女性候选人在网络和筹款方面的发展而建立的。她列举了一些组织，如“艾米丽名单”(Emily's List)和“拉丁裔胜利基金”(Latino Victory Fund)，前者有助于支持选择的民主党女性，后者由拉丁裔创立，旨在帮助拉丁裔当选国会议员。
埃斯科瓦尔说:“我发现，谢天谢地，有一些团体已经成立，帮助像我这样的女性，这些团体对我的成功至关重要。
埃斯科瓦尔说，利用这些在过去几十年中建立的网络，给新一代民主党女性候选人带来了“我们的祖先所没有的不可思议的优势。”
“没有他们，这将是一场更具挑战性的比赛...我非常幸运，非常幸运，”她补充道。
寻求帮助，利用培训项目
代表新墨西哥州第一个国会选区的哈兰德是拉古纳普韦布洛的成员。当她在2018年竞选国会议员时，她2018年的竞选口号是，“国会从未听到过像我这样的声音。”
“国会中从来没有一个美国土著妇女，”她说。“我在国会里没有任何人——一个土著妇女——我可以打电话说，你是怎么做到的?你做了什么?你会帮我吗?我只是觉得，你知道，我在这里开了一个先例，”她说。
当哈兰德和其他五名候选人跳进拥挤的初选场地时，她没有储蓄账户，所以筹款从一开始就是一个挑战。因为还有另一位民主党女性挑战者在竞选中，像艾米丽的名单这样的团体没有参与初选。
“最初，我在初选中没有得到很多支持。我必须非常努力地工作并赢得支持，”她说。
“我们不应该说只有有钱人才能跑...我们需要知道奋斗是什么感觉的人，”她补充说，呼吁竞选财务改革和废除公民联盟-具有里程碑意义的2010年最高法院裁决，取消了对外部团体政治支出的限制。
当被问及是什么帮助她克服了筹款的挑战时，哈兰德列举了她参加新墨西哥涌现项目的经历，该项目是一个全国性组织的一部分，该组织训练民主党女性竞选公职。
哈兰德说:“关于筹款，他们教给我们的一件事是从爱你、最关心你的人开始。
在竞选国会议员之前，哈兰德参加了几次竞选活动，并担任新墨西哥民主党主席。她也是2014年民主党提名的副州长。她说，她的关系网以及她与印第安部落的关系是获得她所需要的基层筹款支持的关键。
她说:“在新墨西哥州做了很长时间的地面工作、敲门、打电话、志愿参加竞选活动后，我只是觉得我有一个强大的关系网，我和任何人一样有机会获胜。“所以我努力工作，我发起了一场我引以为豪的运动。现在，我在餐桌上有了一个位置，可以为那些从未有过发言权的人挺身而出。”
勇敢无畏地为人民辩护
当奥马尔在2018年进入一个拥挤的初选领域，面对包括两名女性在内的五名民主党挑战者时，她没有从各种组织筹集支持的优势。
“这是我们需要努力的事情，也是我们需要改变的事情。他们倾向于不参与，直到...几乎不可避免的是，我们会赢，就我而言，他们在大选中支持了我，”奥马尔说，并补充说，对于有色人种女性来说，这些群体在初选期间的支持“确实有很大的不同。”
奥马尔代表明尼苏达州第五选区，这是民主党白人占多数的据点，她主要依靠个人捐款来资助她的竞选活动。
与哈兰德和埃斯科瓦尔不同，她在2020年面临着一场激烈的初选挑战，这场挑战凸显了在政治上与巨额资金的斗争。
奥马尔的主要对手安东尼·梅尔顿-莫克利用了损害这位女议员第一任期的几个争议。
他的大部分筹款来自大捐助者和亲以色列的政治行动委员会，而奥马尔的绝大多数筹款来自小的基层捐款。
然而，奥马尔获胜了，赢得了明尼苏达州最受关注和最昂贵的初选之一，以超过29，300张选票击败了梅尔顿-莫城，获得了57.4%的选票。
在明尼苏达州，我们知道有组织的人总是会打败有组织的钱。今晚，我们的运动不仅仅是胜利。我们赢得了变革的授权。尽管外界试图击败我们，但我们再次打破了投票记录。尽管遭受了袭击，我们的支持却越来越多。
—伊尔汉·奥马尔(@伊尔汉曼)2020年8月12日
“我们总是说，你知道，有组织的人打败了有组织的钱，”奥马尔说，并补充说，她希望她的初选胜利将“激励人们不要退缩，要有原则和价值观，把人放在利润之上。”
里格说，像奥马尔这样的民主党候选人的成功，以及在某种程度上茶党在2010年的崛起，表明“完全有可能”通过小额个人捐款获胜。
她警告说，虽然这可能是有色人种女性“特别突出”的策略，但这只是“权宜之计”。
她说:“最终，即使你从全国各地的小捐助者那里筹集了数百万美元，也比不上通过大笔捐款注入的数十亿美元……大笔钱可以买到选举，不应该是这样的。
当被问及她对面临筹款挑战的女性有什么建议时，奥马尔敦促候选人拒绝大笔资金，并“勇敢无畏地代表他们的选民进行宣传。”
她说:“那些依靠公司来资助竞选活动的候选人经常谈到这些公司的利益。“我们中那些依靠人民来资助我们的运动的人必须为人民说话……人们正在寻找一个相信他们的人，一个他们可以相信的人。”
“民主的可怕问题”
众议院于2019年3月通过了一项法案，将大幅改革美国选举和竞选融资系统。
“我们正在结束大的、黑暗的、特殊利益的金钱在政治中的统治地位。众议院议长南希·佩洛西说:“我们正在通过国会议员约翰·刘易斯，我们的英雄，以及他的《选民授权法案》来确保干净、公平的选举，以增加进入投票箱的机会。”说同时推出“为了人民法案”
除其他事项外，该法案通过要求非营利组织分享信息，瞄准了“黑金”——不需要披露捐赠者的非营利组织的政治支出。它还指示总统、副总统和大选候选人公布他们的纳税申报单，这是目前法律不要求的。
该法案没有得到任何共和党人的支持，并以234-193的政党路线获得通过。共和党控制的参议院还没有对此进行投票。
与此同时，里格说，通过给寻求政治职位的富人和有权有势的人以优势，大笔资金继续对政治产生“巨大的影响”。
在过去的几十年里，为初选中的民主党女性招募和提供早期支持的组织网络得到了广泛发展，但是共和党仍然处于劣势因为帮助共和党女性的团体仍然很少。
艾米丽名单的主席斯蒂芬妮·施里科(Stephanie Schriock)在接受《早安美国》采访时表示，竞选公职的成本不断上升是“民主的一个可怕问题”，也是一个特别影响低收入女性和有色人种女性的障碍，她们通常是家庭的主要照顾者和养家糊口的人。
“竞选季持续了这么久。这些女性经常被告知她们不能工作，如果你要竞选美国参议员，那就忘了它吧...那是一份全职工作。如果你在竞选美国众议院议员，这几乎是一份全职工作，”她说。
根据施里科的说法，这个问题在立法竞选中更为严重，因为在许多州，立法者很少或根本没有工资。
“如果你想要好的领导者，你必须给他们一些财政支持，这样他们才能对这些工作做到这一点，”她说。“如果我们不解决这些政府机构内部的结构性问题，我们将失去最好的一面，尤其是有色人种女性。”
On the money: How 3 women of color overcame a broken system and made history in Congress
When Congress welcomed a record number of women in 2018, the triumph was attributed to wins in the Democratic Party. It was also a year of historic firsts for Democratic women of color.
Rep. Veronica Escobar, one of the first Latinas to represent Texas in Congress, told ABC News that 2018 was a “watershed year” because women “know what's at stake."
The 116th class became the most diverse group of lawmakers in U.S. history and 2018 was dubbed “the year of the woman.”
“2018 is the year that many, many women, and especially women of color, not only broke a ceiling … [but] broke a concrete ceiling,” Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of only two Muslim women in Congress, told ABC News. “We sort of shattered the perception of what it meant to run and who in politics can be a successful candidate.”
“There’s people who maybe never thought they would see someone who looked like them having a seat in Congress,” New Mexico Rep. Deb Haaland told "Good Morning America." “I wore my native dress ... my pueblo clothing on swearing-in day. I just felt like I needed to express the honor I have for my family.”
As of 2020, only 75 women of color haveservedin the U.S. House of Representatives: 71 Democrats and four Republicans. Five women of color, all Democrats, have ever served in the Senate.
According to Kelly Dittmar, director of research at Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, “The fact that it's 2020 and we're still celebrating those firsts [is] reflective of the progress left to make.”
Tap into and build networks of support
Before she ran for Congress, Escobar had deep roots in her community, where she served as a county judge from 2011-2017.
In the 2018 primary race for Texas' 16th district -- a solidly blue, majority Hispanic urban area that includes the city of El Paso -- she was up against five other challengers. She had to raise more money than her challengers and battle a Republican super PAC that got involved in her primary.
“Someone like me, you know, I'm not connected to wealth," Escobar said. "My friends are not wealthy, my family is not wealthy, and we're a family that depended on my income. So in addition to having to raise that money, I also had to figure out how my family and I would live without my income because I had to resign my position in county government to run."
“Part of what has prevented lots of women from running for Congress is that it is so incredibly expensive,” she added.
Leah Wright Rigueur, a professor of U.S. history at Brandeis University, said that sexism and racism have historically shut women and women of color out of the political system. When they do run, they are often overwhelmingly outspent by white men who have access to “networks” and “war chests” of wealth and power.
“One of the things that we know is that women of color are often discouraged from running for politics because they don't have war chests that rival their male counterparts,” Rigueur, who studies race and politics, said.
Asked about those challenges and what helped her win, Escobar pointed to the expansive network of organizations -- largely on the Democratic side -- that are set up to boost female candidates in both networking and fundraising early on in the primaries. She named groups like Emily's List, which boosts pro-choice Democratic women, Poder Pac, a group founded by Latinas to help Latinas get elected to Congress, and the Latino Victory Fund.
“What I found was, thankfully, there are groups that have been established to help women like me that were instrumental in my success,” Escobar said.
Escobar said that tapping into those networks, which have been built over the past few decades, give a new generation of Democratic female candidates “incredible advantages that our foremothers did not have.”
“Without them, it would have been a significantly more challenging race ... I've been very fortunate and very blessed,” she added.
Ask for help and take advantage of training programs
Haaland, who represents New Mexico’s first congressional district, is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna. When she ran for Congress in 2018, her 2018 campaign slogan was, “Congress has never heard a voice like mine.”
“There had never been a Native American woman in Congress,” she said. “I didn't have anyone in Congress -- a Native woman -- I could call to say, how did you do this? What did you do? Will you help me? It was me just feeling like, you know, I am setting a precedent here,” she said.
When Haaland jumped into a crowded primary field with five other candidates, she did not have a savings account, so fundraising was a challenge from the start. And because there was another Democratic female challenger in the race, groups like Emily’s List did not get involved in the primary.
“I didn't have a lot of support in the primary, initially. I had to work very hard and earn that support,” she said.
“We shouldn't say only rich folks can run ... we need people who know what it's like to struggle,” she added, calling for campaign finance reform and the repeal ofCitizens United-- a landmark 2010 Supreme Court decision that eliminated limits on political spending by outside groups.
Asked what helped her overcome the challenges of fundraising, Haaland cited her participation in a program at Emerge New Mexico -- a chapter of a national organization that trains Democratic women to run for office.
“One of the things they taught us about fundraising [is] start with the people who love you, who care about you the most,” Haaland said.
Before running for Congress, Haaland worked on several campaigns and served as chair of the New Mexico Democratic Party. She was also the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2014. She said that her network -- along with her relationships with Indian tribes -- was key in gaining the grassroots fundraising support that she needed.
undefinedWomen of color are running for Congress in record numbers. Will Republican and Democratic women change the face of Congress?
“After being on the ground, knocking on doors, making phone calls, volunteering for campaigns for a very long time in New Mexico, I just felt like I had a strong network, and I had as good a chance to win as anybody,” she said. “So I worked hard, I ran a campaign that I was proud of. And now I do have a seat at the table to stand up for those who have never had a voice.”
'Be courageous and bold’ in your advocacy for the people
When Omar entered a crowded primary field in 2018, facing off against five Democratic challengers, including two women, she did not have the advantage of fundraising support from various organizations.
“That's something that we need to work on, something that we need to change. They tend to not get involved until ... it's almost inevitable that we are going to win, which, in my case, they endorsed me in the general election,” Omar said, adding that for women of color, support during the primaries from these groups “does make a big difference.”
Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th district -- a majority white Democratic stronghold -- largely relied on small individual donations to fund her campaign.
Unlike Haaland and Escobar, she faced a fierce primary challenge in 2020 -- one that spotlighted the fight against big money in politics.
Omar’s primary opponent Antone Melton-Meaux capitalized on the several controversies that marred the congresswoman's first term.
Much of his fundraising came from large donors and pro-Israel political action committees, while the vast majority of Omar's fundraising came from small grassroots donations.
Nevertheless, Omar prevailed, winning one of the most closely-watched and most expensive primaries in Minnesota, beating Melton-Meaux by more than 29,300 votes and capturing 57.4% of the vote.
In Minnesota, we know that organized people will always beat organized money. Tonight, our movement didn’t just win. We earned a mandate for change. Despite outside efforts to defeat us, we once again broke turnout records. Despite the attacks, our support has only grown.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN)August 12, 2020
“We always say, you know, organized people beat organized money,” Omar said, adding that she hopes her primary win will “serve as an inspiration for people to not back down, to have principles and values [that] put people over profits.”
Rigueur said the successes of Democratic candidates like Omar, and to some extent, the rise of the Tea Party in 2010, showed that “it is entirely possible” to win through small, individual donations.
She cautioned that while this may be an “especially salient” strategy for women of color, it is only a “stopgap measure.”
“Ultimately, even if you raise millions of dollars from small donors across the country, it is no match for billions that are poured in through big-money donations … big money buys elections, and it shouldn't be that way,” she said.
Asked what advice she has to offer women who face fundraising challenges, Omar urged candidates to reject big money and “be courageous and bold in their advocacy on behalf of their constituency.”
“The candidates that are relying on corporations to fund their campaigns often speak to the interests of those corporations,” she said. “And those of us who rely on the people to fund our campaigns have to speak for the people … people are looking for someone who believes in them, [someone] that they can believe in.”
'A terrible problem for democracy'
The House of Representatives passed a bill in March 2019 that would significantly overhaul the U.S. election and campaign finance system.
"We are ending the dominance of big, dark, special interest money in politics. We are ensuring clean, fair elections with Congressman John Lewis, our hero, with his Voter Empowerment Act to increase access to the ballot box," House Speaker Nancy Pelosisaidwhile introducing the "For the People Act."
Among other things, the bill targets "dark money" -- political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors -- by requiring them to share that information. It also directs presidents, vice presidents and candidates in the general election to release their tax returns, which is currently not required by law.
The bill did not receive any Republican support and passed along party lines, 234-193. It has not been taken up for a vote by the GOP-controlled Senate.
In the meantime, Rigueur said big money continues to have "an outsized influence on politics" by giving an edge to the rich and powerful who seek political office.
The network of organizations that recruit and provide early support in fundraising for Democratic women in primary races has grown extensively over the past couple of decades, butRepublicans remain at a disadvantagebecause groups that help GOP women remain few and far between.
Stephanie Schriock, the president of Emily's List, told "Good Morning America" that the rising cost of running for office is a "terrible problem for democracy" and a barrier that particularly impacts low-income women and women of color, who are often primary caretakers and breadwinners in the families.
"The campaign season lasts so long. These women are so often told they cannot work and if you're running for U.S. Senate, forget about it ... that's a full-time job. If you're running for the U.S. House, it's practically a full-time job," she said.
According to Schriock, the problem is even worse in legislative races because in many states legislators make very little or don't get paid a salary at all.
"If you want good leaders, you've got to give them some financial support, so they can do this to these jobs," she said. "And we will lose our best, particularly women of color, if we don't fix the structural problem inside of these government institutions."
