
Democratic women are turning their loss last November into action. In the few months since the election, thousands of them have made plans to run for office themselves, proving that the resistance is female — and so is the future.

In her first public statement after the inauguration, Hillary Clinton recorded a moving message for the Makers Conference, in which she declared that, "Despite all the challenges we face, I remain convinced that, yes, the future is female."

And women across the country agree.

Since the November election, over 10,000 Democratic women have contacted EMILY's List with the desire to run for office themselves. As Stephanie Schriock, the organization's president, noted in a statement, "Over ten thousand women isn't a ripple — it's a wave." She noted that these numbers are "a testament to the energy, determination, and resistance we've seen from Day One of Donald Trump's presidency."


Indeed, women have made their readiness to fight back against the Trump administration, and Trump himself, loud and clear — from the public sphere to within the halls of Congress, where Democratic women's wins in November have made this the most diverse Congress in U.S. history.

It is heartening for those in the resistance to see so many women inspired by those wins, rather than being demoralized by the still-painful shock of Trump's election. As Schriock further declared,

For women, running for office is a direct response to the dangerous agenda pushed by a president and Republican Party determined to turn back the clock on women’s progress. Women everywhere are alarmed at the GOP’s attacks on their health care, on immigrant families, on refugees, on the environment, and on their economic security. In working with EMILY’s List, these thousands of women are fighting to ensure their voices are heard at decision-making tables in communities across the country. Republicans everywhere should sit up and take notice – because this is only the beginning.

The election may be in the past, but the future is still wide open. And Democratic women across the nation are ready to take the lead.