Emily
MikeWhether Oklahoma elects a Republican or Democrat as governor this November, one thing is clear– it will be a woman.
Republican Mary Fallin & Democrat Jari Askins
A woman has never before occupied the gubernatorial position in Oklahoma, a gender disparity that exists for 26 other states, as well. And as NPR reports, an all-female face-off for a state’s top elected position has only happened 3 times in United States history (once in Nebraska, and again in Hawaii).
For these two candidates, there are almost more similarities than differences. Both women bring to this race a history of breaking gender barriers in state politics. Mary Fallin, the Republican candidate, was the first woman elected to Congress from Oklahoma since 1921. She is currently Vice Chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus. Her opponent is Jari Askins, the current Lieutenant Governor of OK. Askins was previously the first female to lead a caucus in Oklahoma’s legislature. Both Fallin and Askins are the first two– and only two– women to have occupied the position of Lieutenant Governor in the state’s history. (Fallin served from 1995–2007).
Both women faced difficult elections to become their party’s nominee. Askins only narrowly eclipsed the NRA-endorsed candidate who was favored to win. In the Republican primary, Fallin faced gendered criticism when her opponent, Randy Brogdon called on her to “stop hiding behind the skirt of Sarah Palin.”
The race should be an interesting one, particularly because it is predicted to be a close one.
As the NYT puts it: In Oklahoma, it’s not the year of the woman. It’s the year of the women.
Filed under: Politics Tagged: | Feminism, jari askins, mary fallin, oklahoma, Politics, women
Whether Democrat or Republican, they will still be from Oklahoma.
It’s worth pointing out that evaluating Brogdon’s remarks in full make it clear that the phrase “hiding behind the skirts” was not used in a gender-prejudiced way. The remark was equally referring to Tim Pawlenty as it was Sarah Palin. It had nothing to do at all with gender. It may have been a poor choice of words, given the possibility to be misunderstood as sexism, but that naïvety only underscores how innocent the remark was.
Spend five minutes watching Senator Brogdon with his wife and the idea that he has a sexist bone in his body would make you laugh.