With all eyes on the presidential election, it’s easy to forget about the other tight races that are on the ballot. Female candidates across the country have been mounting historic bids for the House and Senate, challenging longtime politicians and pushing for something new. 

For the past six weeks, I’ve been traveling around the country — taking my first flights since the pandemic — to cover some of the most closely watched races where women could win. I held a kitten on a farm in Kansas with Senate candidate Barbara Bollier, and walked along the border in Texas with Senate candidate MJ Hegar. Our series — “Could She Flip It?” — highlights six women running for seats that have been held by the opposing party for 15 years or more. 

Reporting on these races, I learned about the pockets of the country experiencing the starkest electoral shifts, where changing demographics — or just the right candidate — could flip a region from blue to red, or red to blue.

These women are formidable politicians, but I also wanted to get to know them as regular people. I asked each one: What do you do just because you want to? 

One listens to podcasts on military strategy. 

One bench presses 150 pounds while listening to Lizzo. 

Another read the entire works of William Shakespeare, just for fun. 

Meet the women who could flip some of the most important seats in Congress:

Barbara Bollier (D)

Kansas, U.S. Senate

A moderate Republican who became a Democrat in 2018, Bollier is casting herself as a “sensible centrist” who couldn’t stomach an increasingly ideological Republican Party. Her campaign is a testing ground for true moderate politics: In a state where Trump reigns, how many Republicans would prefer to return to the middle of the road, even if that means voting for a Democrat?

MJ Hegar (D)

Texas, U.S. Senate

Competing for a seat that’s been held by a Republican since 1961, Hegar believes Texas is hungry for a different kind of leadership. Hegar is a 44-year-old Purple Heart recipient who rides a motorcycle. With Texas newly competitive, she is asking longtime conservative voters to examine their gender biases — and vote for a woman who defies them.

Michelle Fischbach (R)

Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District

While Trump won this district by 31 points in 2016, the district is still represented by a Democrat. A moderate who chairs the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Collin C. Peterson has been the congressman for western Minnesota since 1991. Fischbach, a lawyer who is the former lieutenant governor, is the most serious challenger he has faced in decades.

Candace Valenzuela (D)

Texas’s 24th Congressional District

Running in the increasingly diverse Dallas suburbs, Candace Valenzuela would be the first Black Latina ever elected to Congress if she wins. Her campaign has centered around her powerful personal story: She experienced domestic abuse and homelessness as a kid, living outside of a gas station.

Hiral Tipirneni (D)

Arizona’s 6th Congressional District

Tipirneni made national headlines in 2018 for narrowly losing in a staunchly conservative district where everyone assumed a Democrat couldn’t even come close. She is running again this cycle, in a slightly more moderate district, highlighting the unique credentials she would bring to Congress as a female physician.

Carolyn Bourdeaux (D)

Georgia’s 7th Congressional District

In the traditionally conservative northern suburbs of Atlanta, Bourdeaux is targeting a constituency that Trump won handily in 2016 and has fought hard to retain in 2020: suburban White women. She is hoping they’ll help deliver the seat she lost by just 433 votes in 2018, in what was the closest congressional race in the country.

ICYMI

Three need-to-know stories

01.

At a rally in Michigan last week, President Trump made a pitch to suburban women by promising to get “husbands back to work.” Some women said the comment was “tone deaf” and wondered: “If you’re focusing on getting the men back to work, what does that mean for us?”

02.

Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, called for a new prosecutor to consider the charges in Taylor’s fatal shooting by Louisville police officers. That came after two anonymous grand jurors said the attorney general’s office refused to give them all the evidence they asked for.

03.

With Election Day on Nov. 3, the United States has already hit 68 percent of total 2016 voting, with people across the country lining up to vote early. If you voted by mail, you may be able to track your ballot online. And here’s what we know about when we’ll find out about election results.

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Good news

A story to make you smile

Nasser Jaber, a former restaurant owner, will be offering warm meals on Election Day to people living in food-insecure areas as they stand in long lines. Jaber founded the Migrant Kitchen, a nonprofit that trains and hires immigrants and undocumented workers for careers in the restaurant industry, writes Cathy Free in The Washington Post. On Nov. 3, he is partnering with the Infatuation and Zagat restaurant guides to serve more than 50,000 free meals. Before Election Day, Jaber said, he’ll be working with Feed the Polls, a nonpartisan group started by Zagat CEO and Infatuation co-founder Chris Stang. Stang said the idea came about after he heard Michelle Obama’s speech in August at the Democratic National Convention. “She said something about people packing a lunch or dinner so they could stay in line to vote, and that stayed with me,” he said. “I thought, ‘There must be something we can do to make it easier.’ ”

What’s your plan for Thanksgiving?

We’d love to hear it

The holiday season will look different this year. How are you planning to celebrate Thanksgiving during the pandemic? Are you hosting a Zoom holiday, mailing letters to loved ones to read the day of, dropping off a home-cooked dinner on a relative’s doorstep, volunteering to deliver meals to those in need, or just having a quiet night at home? Share your plans here and you may be featured in a future story.

Until next time

But before we part, some recs

Nneka McGuire

Multiplatform editor, The Lily

What I’m replaying in my mind:

An episode of Brené Brown’s podcast “Unlocking Us” in which she talks to sisters Emily and Amelia Nagoski — one is a sex educator, the other is a music professor — about their new book on burnout. Their explanations and anecdotes profoundly changed how I think about emotion. They also offer solid tips on how to overcome emotional exhaustion.

What I hope to see in person one day:

The gorgeous work of Ghanaian artist Patrick Quarm, who recently had a solo show in New York. His colorful, potent pieces are richly textured, made of layers of paint and textiles. They are an adventure for the eye.

What I’m gazing at:

An oil painting I bought from Chicago-based artist Sarah Sutphin. It’s a striking portrait of a woman in a colorful blouse. We have a few portraits around our home depicting people of different ages and races; I’ve started calling this new one Clotilde. (My partner … doesn’t love the name.)

🖤

Thanks for reading.