Women and Politics

I am saddened to learn that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has suspended her campaign for the NY-23 special election. Her decision comes after weeks of Republicans putting their support behind Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

Dede represented a beacon of hope—hope that we could move beyond partisan politics. Hope that the Republican party would support more women.

But thanks in no small part to a vocal minority, NY-23 has lost the most experienced candidate in the race. They have lost the candidate who was born and raised in their district and would have most accurately represented their values.

Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett remarked on ABC’s “This Week”:

“It’s rather telling when the Republican Party forces out a moderate Republican.”

Senior White House Advisor David Axelrod agreed, saying:

“It sends a clear message to moderates within that party that there’s no room at the inn for them.”

WCF will continue to fight for women like Dede—because there should be room at the inn for moderate women Republican candidates.

Despite the disappointment over losing such a qualified woman leader, we have to remember this: Every time a woman runs, we all win, regardless of the outcome. Research shows that far fewer women than men consider running for office, and of those, significantly fewer actually run.

So every woman who runs for office serves as a role model and takes us one step closer to overcoming this ambition gap. Thank you, Dede, for being such a strong leader and for bravely stepping up to run for Congress.

Tags: campaign suspended, dede scozzafava, Doug Hoffman, moderate republicans, NY-23