With record numbers of women on the ballot this year, 12 women discussed their motivations to help other women get elected.

By Alyssa Schukar and Produced by

Some object to calling this "The Year of the Woman" — why should women get only one year?

Still, there must be some way to recognize the records women have broken in American politics in 2018. More women than ever before filed to run for the House, Senate and governors’ offices, and in congressional races, more women than ever won primaries. And there are more women behind the scenes, too: campaign managers, fund-raisers and volunteers.

The New York Times talked to some of these women who are working behind the candidates to change the face of American politics.

Some say the events and upheavals of the last two years — the loss by the first woman to be a major party presidential nominee, the women's marches, more school shootings and the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh — made them realize that to have a voice, they have to get involved. Others say it's time for a woman's perspective in leadership.

And many were simply inspired by the women running, and the potential for so many firsts this year. In Georgia, Stacey Abrams could be the nation's first black female governor. And Pennsylvania, which has no women in its current congressional delegation, will have at least one come January, because of races where a woman is facing another woman.