Teen Vogue

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Called Out the "Broken Mentality" of Democrats' Establishment Politics

Apparently, not everyone is excited about rising political star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The Democratic rep from New York’s 14th has had a target on her back put there by right-wingers for a while now, but a new report from The Hill indicates she may soon see pressure from another side: her own party.

"What I have recommended to the New York delegation is that you find her a primary opponent and make her a one-term congressperson," an anonymous Democratic lawmaker in the House told The Hill. "You've got numerous council people and state legislators who've been waiting 20 years for that seat. I'm sure they can find numerous people who want that seat in that district."

AOC addressed the idea that folks have been waiting two decades for her seat on Twitter, writing, “That broken mentality, that public office is something you wait in line for, instead of earning through hard organizing, is exactly what voters want to change. Shows you how disconnected some folks here are.”

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📸: CQ Roll Call

7 Ways the Government Shutdown Is Impacting Americans

Updated on January 10, 2019:

President Donald Trump initially promised that Mexico would pay for his proposed border wall between Mexico and the United States, but after Congress refused to meet his demands for $5 billion in border wall and security funding as part of a long-term spending plan, the government partially shut down on December 22. It was the third time a government shutdown had taken place in 2018.

As the government shutdown continues into the new year—and its third week—an increasing number of federal agencies are feeling the strain on their resources. On Wednesday, January 8, the House of Representatives passed the first of a series of spending bills (which they will vote on this week) that are meant to reopen agencies closed by the shutdown. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted Thursday morning asking Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to take up the vote so the shutdown could end. Meanwhile, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations organized a rally outside the White House on Thursday that consisted of more than two dozen unions that represent federal workers, demanding that the government reopen.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are paying the price as they find their everyday resources and routines disrupted by a lack of government services. Here are a few of the ways the shutdown is impacting their lives.

Democrats Took Control of the House, but Republicans Kept the Senate

Updated on Wednesday, November 7, at 9:50 A.M.:

The 2018 midterms projections reported on election night November 6 have held. On Wednesday, November 7, Democrats appear to have passed the 218-seat threshold to take control of the House of Representatives after gaining at least 26 seats. Meanwhile, Republicans kept the Senate after gaining flipping three seats in North Dakota, Indiana, and Montana. Democrats were able to flip a Senate seat in Nevada, but the marquee match-up between Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke and Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in Texas ended with O'Rourke's loss late Tuesday night. It appears to be a record-setting election year for women winners, including a number of historic firsts for women of color and LGBTQ candidates.

Democrats also gained seven governor's seats in the 2018 midterms despite a high-profile loss by Andrew Gillum in Florida and a long road to victory for Georgia's Stacey Abrams, who has not conceded yet.

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📸: Getty Images / Claudia Lewis

9 LGBTQ Candidates You Need to Know For the 2018 Midterms

Representation by people from the LGBTQ community is still sparse within the U.S. government, especially for some of the most powerful positions.

Congress in particular has remained largely white, male, cisgender, and straight for the majority of the country’s history. And in the Senate, there’s been slow change, with politicians like Illinois’s Carol Moseley Braun, who became the first woman of color elected to the Senate, in 1992, and Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, who became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate, in 2012.

Fortunately, the range of candidates running for and being elected to government positions has become more diverse, with a historic number of LGBTQ candidates who've won primaries this year. Now, ahead of the November 6 midterms, there are more LGBTQ candidates running than ever before. Below, we introduce some of these candidates and explain what you should know about them.

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📸: Composite

What Midterms Are and Why They Matter

Unlike state and local elections that happen every year, congressional midterm elections occur halfway through a president’s term and do not take place during general election years. For reference, the last midterm election occurred in 2014 during Barack Obama’s sixth year as president. There was no midterm election in 2016 as it was a general election year.

As 2018 is officially the halfway point in Donald Trump’s presidency, midterm elections will be held nationwide on November 6. Although voter turnout is historically lower than in general elections, midterms are just as important and can have a significant impact on the way the United States government works.

What are midterms?

Midterm elections affect state representation in Congress. During this time, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of Senate seats are up for grabs. Winners of midterm elections are determined by popular vote, as opposed to the electoral college system that is used to elect the president.

In the Senate, there are 35 seats on the line, with 26 Democrats (or independents who often caucus with Democrats) up for reelection. Currently, Republicans hold the majority with 51 seats, meaning Democrats will need to maintain their current number of seats plus win two more to attain a majority.

On the state level, there will be 36 governorships, half of the state Senate seats in 42 states, all of the state House seats with the exception of a few states, and 30 state attorney general offices on ballots. Of the 36 governorships, 26 of them are currently occupied by the Republicans. Although these state positions might seem less important than congressional seats, winning a majority in these areas would allow Democrats to pursue liberal legislation outside of Washington, D.C., and file lawsuits against the Trump administration, according to Vox.

Why do midterms matter?

Midterm elections are important because they help determine power in Congress. As stated in the Constitution, Congress is a legislative body that has the authority to make laws. As a bill only becomes law with approval from both the House and the Senate, the political party with the majority in both chambers of Congress is more likely to have their legislation passed. This is especially important when it comes to bills that impact a lot of people, like those would revoke Internet privacy or repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Midterm elections are important because they provide voters with the opportunity to change the party in power. Fifty-one seats are required for a political party to have control in the Senate, while 218 are needed to achieve a majority in the House. There are currently 12,873 bills and resolutions before Congress. In the 115th Congress, there have been 270 bills and joint resolutions that have become laws with a Republican majority.

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📸: Getty Images

As a Transgender Person, State Laws Changed the Course of My Life

There’s a bill on the ballot in Massachusetts in the 2018 midterms that could determine a great deal for the transgender people living in the Bay State. As the Boston Globe put it in an editorial, Massachusetts Ballot Question 3 will have voters choose “to uphold common-sense public accommodations protections for transgender individuals by voting yes, or to set back equal access by voting no.”

As ACLU attorney Chase Strangio wrote for Teen Vogue, “On November 6, Massachusetts voters will be voting on Question 3, which is an attempt to strip away civil rights protections for transgender people under state law. After decades of work by trans people and our allies, these protections are at risk in the first statewide vote to remove civil rights gains for transgender people.”

Ballot Question 3 asks voters whether they support an existing law that adds “gender identity” to the list of protected classes (with race, religion, and more) that can’t be discriminated against in public accommodations, resort, or amusement, explains Freedom Massachusetts, a nonpartisan coalition that advocates for trans rights. It ensures that trans people can use the right bathrooms, and now voters are being asked to decide whether or not they think that’s a good idea.

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📸: Hunter Abrams

6 Senate Races to Watch Ahead of the 2018 Midterm Elections

Mark your calendars for November 6, because the 2018 midterm elections will be one of the most important of this generation. With the fight for control in the House and Senate at an all-time high and the future of the Trump administration on the line, there’s a lot riding on the upcoming midterm elections.

According to The New York Times, Democrats need to flip 23 Republican-held seats to regain control of the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Democrats in the Senate need to hold 10 seats — all which went to Donald Trump won in the 2016 election — as well as flip at least two Republican-held Senate positions to gain control in this chamber of Congress.

As all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, Teen Vogue takes a look at the most contested Senate races to watch this midterm election. With Democrats fighting to regain control of the upper chamber, they need only two seats to flip the Senate blue but are up against tough competition in several key states, including Ted Cruz’s Texas and Jeff Flake’s Arizona.

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📸: Pool

Ilhan Omar Could Be One of the First Muslim Women and the First Somali-American in Congress

Minnesota state lawmaker Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary to replace retiring Rep. Keith Ellison in the U.S. House of Representatives by a landslide, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, making her one of four women who could become some of the first Muslim women in Congress.

Omar has the opportunity to knock out a lot of firsts with a November win: she could join Michigan Democratic House nominee Rashida Tlaib, who is running unopposed in November, as one of the first Muslim women in Congress; she would be the first-ever Somali-American in Congress, after coming to the U.S. over two decades ago as a refugee; and she would be the first Muslim to replace another Muslim (Rep. Ellison) in the House.

Along with Omar and Tlaib, two other Muslim women could join them in Congress: Deedra Abboud in Arizona and Tahirah Amatul-Wadud in Massachusetts.

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📸: Mark Vancleave

Jahana Hayes Could Be the First Black Woman to Represent a New England State in Congress

Jahana Hayes, a former high school history teacher who was awarded National Teacher of the Year in 2016 by President Barack Obama, won the Democratic nomination for Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District seat during primary elections on Tuesday, August 14. During her campaign, Hayes has embraced the hardships she has faced throughout her life, including growing up in public housing, being the daughter of a drug addict and getting pregnant as a teenager, according to The New York Times.

“People told me I had no chance and I had no business trying to do this,’’ Hayes, 46, said to supporters in Waterbury after securing the nomination, according to the Hartford Courant. “Tonight, we proved them wrong.”

If Hayes wins she’d become Connecticut's first black Democrat to serve in Congress and the first black woman to serve in Congress on behalf of any New England State, according to The Washington Post.

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📸: Chip Somodevilla

Chaos on Capital Hill!

Ok, we know it's confusing, but let us explain what the government shutdown really means...

Just because Uncle Sam is out-of-business doesn't mean your life will change all that much, but it's still important to stay informed >>