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Primary Takeaways: A Big Win for Democratic Women in Virginia and a Sexist Narrative in North Dakota


Another round of primary elections meant more big wins for women this week, notably in the commonwealth of Virginia where there are no Democratic women in Congress currently.

But Tuesday night may have changed that, come November.

Democratic women won three House primaries in Virginia last night. This is just the latest example of the party’s surging female demographic in the Trump era.

  • Democrat Jennifer Wexton, a state senator, now goes up against vulnerable incumbent Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in VA-10.

  • Democrat Abigail Spanberger, formerly of the CIA, will challenge Tea Party sensation Dave Brat, who famously won his VA-7 seat by knocking out former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

  • Democrat Elaine Luria’s primary win gives her a shot at unseating GOP Rep. Scott Taylor in a VA-2 general election battle between two Navy veterans. (Another Democratic woman, Leslie Cockburn, previously locked up the VA-5 nomination at the party convention; a book she wrote with her husband years ago on US-Israeli relations has led to questions about whether she is anti-Semitic.)

Also in Virginia, former Hillary Clinton running mate, Tim Kaine, will compete for re-election to the U.S. Senate against controversial GOP nominee Corey Stewart, who’s best known for things like defending Confederate monuments and appearing with Jason Kessler, organizer of the Charlottesville white nationalist rally during which counter protester Heather Heyer was hit by a car and killed.

There’s a sexist narrative brewing in North Dakota:

In another notable win, North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp will now go on to face GOP Rep. Kevin Cramer in a bid for another term. Heitkamp is already in a tense situation just based on the numbers, given that Donald Trump won her state by 36 points and she’s trying to keep her job while balancing her relationships with both her president and her party.

But there’s an added layer to the story framed around Heitkamp’s interactions with Trump—and the fact that she’s a woman. Per a Washington Post report, Cramer is upset that the president gave Heitkamp a shout-out and a handshake at the recent banking bill signing. He also accused her of being “insecure” and trying to stand as close to Trump as possible during the event.

“Have you ever watched the video? It’s obscene,” Cramer told the Post.

Taking it a (sexist) step further, he insinuated that the President’s treatment of Heitkamp is based on the fact that she is a woman. “I do think there’s a little difference in that she’s a woman,” Cramer said. “That’s probably part of it — that she’s a, you know, a female. He doesn’t want to be that aggressive, maybe. I don’t know.” Bear in mind, Trump has had no qualms getting politically aggressive with women in the past. Just ask Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Or Claire McCaskill, as Heitkamp herself points out. “Well, that wouldn’t explain Claire. I think she’s a woman, right?” Heitkamp said of the Missouri Democratic Senator, whom Trump has criticized. “That theory falls apart almost immediately.”

Needless to say, this race will be an interesting one to watch over the next few months.

Here are the other primary results you might have missed from around the country:

In South Carolina, Rep. Mark Sanford conceded a close GOP primary in which Trump had endorsed his challenger, Katie Arrington. Trump hate-tweeted against Sanford while the polls were still open, reminding SC-1 voters of the weird scandal in which Sanford (then the married governor of South Carolina) went off the grid and lied about being on a hiking trip when he was really hanging with his girlfriend in Buenos Aires. Arguably, it was an ironic line of attack for a president who has been married three times and repeatedly called to task for infidelities, but the Sanford upset might also highlight the price Republicans can pay in the 2018 midterms for being critical of Trump.

Also in South Carolina, Democrat Archie Parnell won a four-way primary for the chance to go up against GOP Rep. Ralph Norman in November. This is all despite his admission that he abused his ex-wife 45 years ago in an incident she said made her fear for her life and which led to their 1974 divorce. The Democratic Party and Parnell’s campaign staff shunned him after his history came to light, but he says his SC-5 win shows people believe, “You don’t have to be defined by your worst mistake. You don’t have to be cast aside. You are not alone. You can be better. And, together, we can be better.”

In Maine, Janet Mills is currently leading in the Democratic primary for governor. Mills is the first female attorney general of Maine and, if elected governor in November, would be the first woman to hold that office. However, Maine is trying out ranked-choice voting for the first time in this race, and a winner hasn’t been called yet. (Under this setup, also known as the instant runoff system, voters pick a first choice, a second choice, and so on. If no candidate wins an outright 50% of the vote, they distribute the votes of the candidates at the bottom of the list until someone gets a majority and is declared victor.) Elsewhere, the mayor of Waterville, Maine survived a recall vote after having tweeted “Eat it” at Florida student David Hogg while sticking up for Laura Ingraham amid the ad pullouts generated by her post-Parkland remarks about guns.

In Nevada, Democratic philanthropist Susie Lee will go up against GOP businessman and repeat candidate Danny Tarkanian to fill the NV-3 House seat of Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen, who is now her party’s nominee to topple incumbent GOP Senator Dean Heller. That could be a tough race for Heller, who is seeking re-election as a Republican in a state that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

And so, the march to the November mid-terms continues.





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Kim Kardashian Says She's 'Shocked' to Win CFDA Award Since She's 'Naked Most of the Time'


Kim Kardashian West’s mega-empire has officially earned the fashion world’s recognition. (No, her stint as co-owner of DASH didn’t count.) At the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) annual awards ceremony on Monday, June 4 —often called the Oscars of fashion—Kim Kardashian West accepted the organization’s first-ever Influencer Award.

The award is as straightforward as it sounds: the CFDA introduced the award to recognize Kardashian West’s enormous impact on the fashion industry, simply by posting online to her enthusiastic audience. (Thanks to her, we’ve all at least considered wearing biker shorts and a blazer.) To accept the history-making honor, Kardashian West made a brief, on-brand acceptance speech that showed just how ‘influential’ the star is.

PHOTO: Theo Wargo

Kim Kardashian West accepts her Fashion Influencer Award at the 2018 CFDA Awards

Kardashian West appeared onstage for all of a minute, but her words packed a punch. After thanking the CFDA for honoring her with an award, she started with a pointed joke: “I’m kind of shocked that I’m winning a fashion award when I’m naked most of the time,” she laughed.

Then, Kardashian West got serious. She remembered a former publicist who doubted her ability to land a cover on a fashion magazine—a dream that Kardashian-West always had. “[S]he said, ‘Let’s get some realistic goals, because that’ll never happen,'” Kardashian West recalled.

But, true to Kardashian form, Kim had a comeback. “Of course I sent her my Vogue cover when it came out, an autographed copy,” Kardashian West said. “So it’s really a trip to me that I’m now here getting an award for fashion, something that I’ve always loved.”

2018 CFDA Fashion Awards - Show

PHOTO: Theo Wargo

Kim Kardashian West accepts her Fashion Influencer Award at the 2018 CFDA Awards

With that anecdote handy, Kardashian West’s award symbolized just how much impact her following has had on the fashion market. Busy Philipps presented Kardashian West with her award, noting that many people view Kardashian’s social media empire and accompanying selfies as the “ultimate symbol of female empowerment.” “You are the influencer’s influencer,” Philipps said. “Your impact on how women dress and what they want to look like has had real cultural significance.”

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2018 CFDA Fashion Awards - Arrivals

PHOTO: Dimitrios Kambouris

Kim Kardashian West wearing Rick Owens at the 2018 CFDA Awards

Kardashian West didn’t need a silver trophy to know the scope of her influence; she has 112 million Instagram followers to remind her. Still, she was thrilled to be recognized by the biggest organization in American fashion. (A sentiment she shared on her Instagram after her award was announced.) “I’m so humbled by this award,” she told model Candice Huffine on the red carpet before the event. When Huffine asked about who influences her, Kardashian West deferred to her famous personal fashion arbiter, husband Kanye West. “I’m super inspired by my husband, fashion-wise, because he really helps me to develop my look,” she said.

The first-time award was conceived by designer and CFDA board member Tommy Hilfiger, who said that Kardashian West’s influence is impossible to ignore in fashion—even if Kardashian West isn’t running a label herself. “Kim is the most important and powerful influencer in the world. Her reach extends far beyond her own brands,” Hilfiger said in a statement announcing that Kardashian would receive an award. “Every time she wears, posts or talks about a fashion brand, there is an immediate and significant increase in both awareness and sales.”

First she dominated TV, then beauty, and now fashion. At this rate, there’s an EGOT in Kim Kardashian West’s future. Read the mogul’s entire acceptance speech for her CFDA Influencer Award, below.

Thank you so much, Busy. We actually met on social media. We became friends on social media. So, I’m kind of shocked that I’m winning a fashion award when I’m naked most of the time. But this is seriously such an honor. Thank you to the CFDA for this award.

It was maybe seven years ago when I, I had a publicist and she asked me, what was my goals, what were my dreams. And I said, “I just want to be on the cover of a fashion magazine.” And she said, “Let’s get some realistic goals, because that’ll never happen.” And so, of course I sent her my Vogue cover when it came out, an autographed copy. So it’s really a trip to me that I’m now here getting an award for fashion, something that I’ve always loved. So thank you so much.

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With Georgia Democratic Primary Win, Stacey Abrams Is One Step Closer to Becoming the First Black Woman Governor


Georgia Democrats handed Stacey Abrams a landmark win in Tuesday’s primary, propelling her to a shot at becoming America’s first black woman governor.

The contest between Abrams and Stacey Evans was bound to make history no matter who won: no woman has ever been the Democratic nominee for Georgia’s top job.

Right now, women run the state houses of Alabama, Iowa, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon and Rhode Island. There are currently no sitting black governors at all.

Abrams declared victory in a 9 p.m. Facebook post, saying her win belonged to “everyone who believed that a little Black girl who sometimes had to go without lights or running water – who grew up to become the first woman to lead in the Georgia General Assembly – could become the first woman gubernatorial nominee from either party in Georgia’s history.”

Georgia’s “Stacey vs. Stacey” showdown came in a midterm year that’s drawn a record number of female candidates, although many face steep challenges to ultimately winning office.

The high-profile race played out in a traditionally Republican southern state where voters must choose a successor to term-limited Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Democrats are hoping to make inroads in the Peach State, where Donald Trump convincingly defeated Hillary Clinton by about 51 percent to 46 percent in the 2016 presidential election.

Abrams attracted endorsements from Clinton and other marquee Democrats in the leadup to her decisive primary win over Evans. Whether she can defeat the GOP nominee to break the next glass ceiling isn’t yet clear.

As put to Glamour Tuesday by University of Georgia associate professor of political science Audrey Haynes, Democrats in the South tend to run moderates who “can appeal to pragmatic voters who may straddle the two major political parties, or generally, appeal to more educated white Republican voters who are fiscal conservatives [and] law-and-order oriented, but not as invested in the culture war.”

That battle plan, Haynes said, has been in part based on who historically shows up at the polls in past midterm election cycles. “Republican voters consistently turn out; minority voters less so. But that may be changing, particularly when you have a candidate who is visibly identifiable as a member of a minority group,” she said. “If Abrams wins by turning out large numbers of minority voters across the state, that will be a game-changer. But there are questions about her appeal to that more moderate voter.”

Analysts have taken specific note of the role black women have played in recent elections. Their participation in the 2012 presidential vote outstripped that of other groups, and they overwhelmingly supported Hillary Clinton in 2016 while white women split between Clinton and Trump. African-American women also had a significant role in the victory of Alabama Democrat Doug Jones in a widely watched 2017 special election for U.S. Senate.

A SurveyUSA poll conducted this month found that in a hypothetical November matchup for governor, Republican Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle led Abrams 46 percent to 41 percent, with 14 percent of likely voters undecided.

Abrams ran as a Yale-educated lawyer, businesswoman, novelist and veteran of the Georgia House of Representatives. Having experienced discrimination in her own life, as well as struggling with personal debt, she said as governor she’d champion “a vision for Georgia where equality fosters prosperity, and where everyone has the opportunity to succeed – not just survive.”

Evans, meanwhile, said the challenges of her life, including an impoverished childhood, had fueled and informed her achievements. She worked her way through college, supplementing scholarships with jobs as a telemarketer and waitress, before going on to law school, a career as an attorney, and election to the Georgia House.

The two women, both in their 40s, shared many of the same Democratic planks during a campaign that at times exposed racial tensions.

In a notable campaign flashpoint, Evans accused Abrams of having shorted the disadvantaged while a legislator by buying into a Republican-led deal that slashed scholarship funding. Per the Washington Post, Abrams countered that the program she supported “preserved money for pre-kindergarten programs and staved off even tougher academic requirements she says Republicans wanted for all four-year award recipients.”

According to an NBC News analysis, television and radio ad spending on the Democratic primary ran into the millions: The Evans for GA Governor group plunged $1.5 million into the race. Abrams for GA Governor spent $475,000, but other pro-Abrams groups, such as BlackPAC and PowerPAC, threw in more than $2 million.

Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, said the primary highlighted alternative Democratic approaches to the electorate for women running in a heated 2018 cycle. Abrams, he said, “focused on an appeal to progressive voters and people of color” in hopes of riding a “wave of anti-Trump sentiment into the general election.” By contrast, West said an Evans win could have been interpreted as the primary electorate betting “a moderate Democrat has a better shot at beating a male Republican in the general election.”

Jeanne Zaino, a political science professor at Iona College, said while gender will unavoidably be an issue in a November vote that pits a Democratic woman against a Republican man, “what also matters is their ability to appeal to voters on the ground and address issues of concern to Georgian voters, as well as the all-important issues of fundraising and turnout.”

Zaino noted that “among Democrats across the nation, in the special elections we’ve seen so far that turnout has been rivaling presidential election years.”

Given the state’s traditional Republican leanings, she cautioned, “It may be too early to call Georgia a swing state or talk about a ‘blue wave’ sweeping Georgia.”





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Lena Waithe Becomes the First Black Woman to Win for Comedy Writing at the 2017 Emmy Awards


Lena Waithe just made Emmy Awards history by becoming the first Black woman to win for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for Master of None. (She was also the first Black woman ever nominated in this category.) This was a monumental moment for television history, and it wasn’t lost on the celebrities in the audience: Nearly everyone stood up and clapped for Waithe as she walked up to accept her prize.

Waithe’s acceptance speech was emotional; she took time to thank the slew of people in front of and behind the camera on Master of None. However, Waithe really won over the crowd toward the end of her speech when she gave an impassioned message to the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I see each and everyone one of you,” she said. “The things that make us different: those are our superpowers. Everyday when you walked out the door, put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world—because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.”

Watch that part of her speech in the video, below:

Waithe’s contribution to Master of None is perhaps best encapsulated in the Thanksgiving episode from the most recent season, where her character’s mom finally says that she’s happy for her. (Waithe plays Denise, a queer woman, on Master of None.)

“It’s such a pivotal moment for women, particularly women of color, who may be struggling with what it’s like to have a gay child,” Waithe said. The grabbing of the hand, the looking in the eyes and saying, ‘I’m happy with the way you turned out,’ instead of this long speech of ‘It’s OK that you’re gay,’ is a moment of acknowledgment. For a lot of queer people, that’s all we could ever want.”

For more of our 2017 Emmy Awards coverage, click here.

Related Stories:

Master of None Writer and Star Lena Waithe Had the Best Response to Making Emmy History



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Kate Middleton & Prince William Win Over $100,000 Over Topless Photos


The verdict is in: Two French gossip publications will have to pay up after publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton.

Back in 2012, the French magazine Closer and the local newspaper La Provence published photos taken with with telephoto lenses of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless with Prince William at a chateau in France. Closer‘s headline translated to “Oh My God: the photos that will go around the world.” Sure enough, the photos spread to other European publications—despite the couple’s getting an injunction against their further use.

After the photos came out, William and Catherine sued Closer‘s editor and owner and the photographers who took the pictures—who were part of a celebrity photo agency—for violation of privacy. Five years later, they’ve now been awarded 100,000 euros ($118,000) in damages by a French court—significantly less than the 1.5 million euros they asked for.

The Closer executives were each fined 45,000 euros ($53,000)—the maximum fine—and Catherine and William each got 50,000 euros ($59,000) from the executives and photographers.

Closer’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins, argued at a hearing in May that “the public and private lives of the royal couple are so closely linked as to be inseparable” and “it’s of public interest to know that future heirs to the throne have a solid relationship and are getting on well.”

In a letter read by his lawyer during the same hearing, Prince William said the scandal was “particularly shocking because it reminded us of the harassment that led to the death of my mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.” (Princess Diana died in a car accident after her vehicle was chased by photographers in Paris.)

Soon after the photos were published, St. James’s Palace said in a statement that they represented a “grotesque and totally unjustifiable” invasion of privacy. It continued, “The incident is reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to the Duke and Duchess for being so.”



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