By Dr. Carmen Schaye, NWPC Vice President of Diversity

Last Tuesday American voters got their clearest look yet at the main contenders to take on Donald Trump in next year’s election. The previously packed Democratic field has thinned significantly and now, has coalesced around two candidates; one “moderate” and one “progressive.” Along the way, the process has shed all of its diversity: losing 6 women and 6 people of color. What began as a diverse and crowded field has become the familiar shootout between two older, white men. The next President will be Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, or Donald Trump: all men, all white, and all over 70 years of age.

The reasons for this are varied. Biden’s late surge on Super Tuesday was fueled by the withdrawal from the race of popular moderates, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar and their subsequent endorsements. This allowed the moderate vote, previously split among several candidates, to solidify around Biden. 

But why him? Klobuchar, Buttigieg, and Harris are all moderates, all younger and all without the questionable voting records that progressives have used to attack the Biden campaign. Buttigieg was even leading Biden in the delegate count when he pulled out of the race. Yet it is the veteran Biden that has been chosen to carry the moderate torch. One of the main reasons is Biden’s solid support from the black community. As Barack Obama’s Vice-President, he has a coalition-building appeal that none of the other candidates can match. According to research conducted by Steven Webster at Emory University, there is a strong correlation between the age of the voter and the age of the candidate they support. Biden can count on both the black vote and the traditionally healthy vote of those over 55. Indeed it was Buttigieg’s lack of support among minority voters that persuaded him to drop out and support Biden.

Another popular figure in this race was Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts. The once leading candidate suspended her campaign after a poor showing on Super Tuesday. Labeled as a progressive alternative to Bernie Sanders, Warren was unable to pry away significant numbers of Sander’s die-hard supporters. Her passionate attacks on Mike Bloomberg in the debates gave her a fundraising boost and allowed her to race a while longer but didn’t boost her ability to build that essential national coalition. 

We have to look at the role sexism played in this contest. The truth is that America lags behind the rest of the developed world – and some of the developing world – in terms of female leadership. American voters, perhaps chastened by the defeat of Hilary Clinton, are reluctant to support a woman. The almost unprecedented Presidential legacy of Trump has meant that “who has the best chance to beat Trump?” has become almost the defining question of the primary and has led to a large conservative shift from the electorate. 

As Warren said: “If you say, ‘Yeah, there was sexism in this race,’ everyone says, ‘Whiner.’ And if you say, ‘There was no sexism,’ about a bazillion women think, ‘What planet do you live on?’” Warren seems to be referring to the subtle sexism of voters’ subconscious, that sees them favor a less experienced man over a more experienced woman (Hilary Clinton may also have something to say about this…).

Amy Klobuchar is reported to have a visceral resentment of fellow moderate and newcomer Pete Buttigieg. Taking sex out of the equation, it is hard to see what possible advantage the political newcomer and Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has over the long-time Senator from Minnesota: Both are moderates, both younger and both lack the name-recognition of Biden. The suggestion is that if the Mayor- a moderate, gay, war-veteran- were female, his meteoric rise would have been impossible. 

Enter Tulsi Gabbard. Like Buttigieg Gabbard is a war veteran, in fact, the first female war veteran to run for President, unlike Buttigieg she has the congressional experience, is a woman of color (American-Samoan) and is one of three Hindu members of Congress. She rarely polled above 1%. As well as the sexism of the electorate.

The skewed perception of women in American politics is, at least partially, to blame for its significant lag behind the rest of the world. Female candidates are asked different questions to men and are forced to play on a significantly slanted playing field. For example, according to Ella Nilson and Li Zhou of Vox Magazine:

“a July poll of likely New Hampshire voters found good favorability numbers for both Warren and then-candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (67 percent for Warren, 54 percent for Harris) but dismal “likability” ratings for them. Just 4 percent of likely voters thought Warren was “likable,” and 5 percent for Harris. Compared to that, 20 percent of likely voters thought Biden and Sanders were likable.”

Defeating Trump next year is all the Democratic establishment can think about. Having been given free-rein by a partisan Senate, the prospect of a second term for Trump is truly controversial. The DNC and electorate are looking for a candidate they think everyone can agree on. While this is understandable, it is important to recognize that this move has come at the cost of diversity. Women and minority candidates are unjustifiably seen as a risk not worth taking. This despite an inexperienced, minority candidate in Barack Obama, having run one of the most popular campaigns in recent history. This despite there being more highly qualified women and people of color on stage than ever. 

In an era where the country seems to be yearning for an end to “politics as usual,” the Democratic party had a chance to present a clear alternative to Donald Trump. Instead, we are going with the same-old-thing. We must congratulate these six women on having the courage to run. © Dr. Carmen Schaye