The great Atlanta native Coretta Scott King once said, “Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul.”
King’s words could not ring truer than they do at this historic American moment. With the 2024 presidential election just weeks away, we are witnessing a sea change. The reemergence of the importance of freedom. A resurgence of women’s power and engagement. And a redefining of alliances and how we reach out to those who might not always agree with us but who share similar American values.
Credit: handout
Credit: handout
A September poll put Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, ahead of former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. As The 19th pointed out, that’s largely thanks to women. A September AARP poll showed that older women are shifting to Harris over Trump. An American University poll said women trust Harris more than Trump on the economy, as Politico reported. These polls reflect a major change from recent presidential elections. In 2020, white women went for Trump over now-President Joe Biden 55-43.
Women run the household budgets, and they do the shopping. Women — our mothers, sisters and best friends — do it all and do not question whether a woman president is capable. Women have seen what the two candidates in 2024 offer, and they know what they want.
They want a president who understands what Americans are going through, who understands the challenges that people face day to day. They have no space in their hearts for the demonization of others.
Women voters know that women lead differently. A 2023 study commissioned by the American Psychological Association said, “When more women are empowered to lead, everyone benefits. Decades of studies show women leaders help increase productivity, enhance collaboration, inspire organizational dedication, and improve fairness.” That is what we see in a nutshell from women in this 2024 campaign. Women can offer a better way forward, one that is more focused on the needs of everyday people than on imagined grievances and retribution.
Consider this: In an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, Harris announced her intentions to make long-term home care available through Medicare. Harris’s plan would help caregivers and families not bear all the costs and burdens of providing that care when they still have children at home or in college or a full-time job. Harris was a caregiver to her mother, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer when Harris was just 39 and serving as a district attorney in California.
I, too, know the serious financial and, yes, emotional impact of having a suddenly ill aging parent at home and needing care — not just for months but years. If families are not financially prepared, and if your senior parents do not have long-term care, disability or other insurances in place, as mine did not, you will have to find the resources to pay for medication and nursing care out of pocket. It completely changes the family dynamics and security.
A woman who has faced the same struggles as other American families could well be unstoppable.
And so, here we are.
Harris is running a historic 120-day sprint to the presidency very differently than any of her predecessors, including her the first woman presidential candidate for a major party, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Harris raised more than $1 billion in less than three months and has won the enthusiastic support of Republican women, including former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. Hollywood icon Julia Roberts, a Smyrna native, and entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey are on her side.
Harris is not afraid to talk about women’s issues. Reproductive freedom is a frequent talking point, as is health care access. And she’s strategic in her outreach to young voters. A stepmother to two 20-somethings, she knows young people. Her social media team is quick and funny and knows how to troll Trump. Plus, Harris makes time for nontraditional media (much to the ire of the national traditional media, I might add), including the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, to reach voters where they are.
Women just might save democracy in 2024 — and, in the process, lift people instead of tearing them down.
About the Author
