Through in-depth reporting and interviews, The Feminist Vote 2024 is your feminist guide through Election Day and beyond, covering what you need to know about the most consequential election of our lifetimes.
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.
This week’s special post-election edition tracks the 2024 election’s bright spots, feminist victories and a full rundown of the challenges and dangers we now face.
Lest We Forget
“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fuels this campaign, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people—a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up … the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspirations, where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies and not have their government telling them what to do.
“We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square. We will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor, by always using our strength to lift people up.
“Hard work is good work. Hard work can be joyful work. And the fight for our country is always worth it. I will often say that when we fight, we win. But here’s the thing: Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win.”
—Vice President Kamala Harris in her concession speech at Howard University.
“I tried to tell you.”
—E. Jean Carroll on Twitter.
“Women have faced setbacks before. Yet each time, they have rallied together, breaking new ground and driving change. After every challenge, we’ve seen women step forward and lead—from the historic ‘Year of the Woman’ in 1992, to the record number of women in Congress today. Just four years ago, six remarkable women vied for the Democratic presidential nomination, showcasing the breadth of talent, vision and leadership women bring to our national landscape. … Now more than ever, we must be deliberate in our efforts to support one another and foster a sense of unity that drives progress.”
—Frédérique Irwin, president and CEO of the National Women’s History Museum.
“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not.’ I’m going to protect them.”
—President-elect Donald Trump doubling down on his campaign trail claim of being a “protector of women,” even without our consent.
“There are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … that have to go, that are not doing their job, they’re not protecting our kids.”
—Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who is likely to be given a major role in health in the Trump administration.
“One of the most gratifying results of the Senate becoming Republican: The filibuster will stand … and we’ll quit beating up the Supreme Court every time we don’t like a decision they make. I think the filibuster is very secure.”
—Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
“This is a disappointment, but is not a failure. It will never be wrong to fight for organized labor, it will never be wrong to fight for the freedom of women to make their healthcare decisions, it surely will never be wrong to fight for civil rights and human rights.”
—Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), in his concession remarks after the longtime labor rights champion lost to Republican challenger Bernie Moreno.
“For 248 years, this nation has waited to have its first woman president. While this wait continues, we know that it’s a matter of if—not when—we get the chance to break this glass ceiling.”
—Teresa C. Younger, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for stepping up to run when our country needed her leadership, tenacity and commitment to serve the American people the most. Because of the trails she blazed, the lives she touched, the communities she fought for, the stories she uplifted, we are better.
“I know right now things may feel uncertain. It may feel disparaging. There is even real fear. But it is incumbent on all of us not to step back but to lean forward to ensure our democracy prevails, our reproductive freedoms are restored, and that everyone has the ability to thrive and get ahead.”
—Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), who won her race for Delaware’s open Senate seat.
“Tuesday’s results don’t change the reality that Americans support abortion rights. But there will be no quick fixes, and as was the case with the fall of Roe, Americans may have to learn the hard way that ballot measures alone won’t be enough to save them.“
—Law professor Mary Ziegler at Slate about why the ballot measure wins may not matter in the end.
Milestones
+ Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential race. As of Tuesday evening, Trump had won 75,176,038 votes (50.3 percent of voters) to Harris’ 71,934,524 votes (48.1 percent) and flipped several key swing states. Across the U.S. and around the word, many are struggling to understand how half of U.S. voters sided with a convicted felon, rapist and ally of white supremacists for president, over a highly qualified Black woman.
+ Republicans also gained control in the Senate, and may maintain a slim majority in the House, though ballot counting continues. A Republican trifecta would make it easier for the Trump administration to institute policies that strip away rights from women, people of color, LGBTQ people, disabled people, immigrants and other marginalized groups.
+ Misogynistic language has been surging online, as MAGA supporters and men are feeling emboldened. According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), “there has been a 4,600 percent increase in mentions of the terms ‘your body, my choice’ and ‘get back in the kitchen’ on X. Similarly misogynist language, such as the use of ‘dumb cunt’ to target Harris, television personalities such as Rachel Maddow and others, received more than 64,000 mentions on X from more than 42,000 accounts on Nov. 5.”
+ Already, right-wing supporters and media personalities like Matt Walsh, former Trump advisor Steve Bannon and former Trump aide and senior Project 2025 advisor John McEntee are openly calling for the implementation of Project 2025.
+ Amid devastating threats, some election victories provide hope as feminists regroup and make plans to push back against the Trump administration and beyond. In several states, including some that voted for Trump, progressive ballot measures were successful.
- Seven states—Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York—passed ballot measures that protect or expand access to abortion.
- In every state with paid sick leave on the ballot—Missouri, Alaska and Nebraska—voters supported the proposals. Alaska and Missouri also voted to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- California, Colorado and Hawaii all voted to protect marriage equality.
- Finally, New York amended the state constitution to include an equal rights amendment that protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.
- Illinois voters approved a referendum to boost coverage for reproductive treatments, including IVF—helping ensure the path to parenthood is open for all.
- Both Travis County, Texas, and Sonoma County, Calif., overwhelmingly passed measures that will generate funds for childcare and other programming for kids.
- Nevada removed sales tax on diapers—the 20th state to do so.
+ In Florida, however, the abortion rights amendment received a majority of the votes, but fell below the 60 percent threshold needed for ballot measures to pass.
+ Nebraska upheld its 12-week abortion ban and opened the door for stricter laws, and South Dakota voters shot down a proposal to guarantee the right to an abortion in the first trimester.
+ For the first time ever, two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), will serve in the Senate together.
+ Andy Kim (D-N.J.) will be the first Korean American senator, and his state’s first Asian American senator.
+ Sarah McBride will be the first out transgender member of Congress, winning her race for Delaware’s House seat.
+ With Republican Kelly Ayotte’s election as governor of New Hampshire, there will now be a record 13 women governors, and 50 women who have ever served as a governor.
+ Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) will be the first woman to serve in the House of Representatives from North Dakota. Now, Mississippi is the only state to never send a woman representative to D.C.
+ Judge Pamela Goodwine became the first Black woman elected to the Kentucky Supreme Court, which will now have a female majority for the first time.
+ Justice Kyra Harris Bolden is Michigan’s first Black woman elected to the Supreme Court, and Democratic Party-nominated candidates will maintain their majority.
+ Justice Allison Riggs appeared to win her race for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by just 625 votes, ahead of a recount. A Riggs win means Republicans will maintain a 5-2 majority, but a liberal majority now could be possible in 2028.
+ Julie Johnson (D-Texas) will be the first out LGBTQ person to represent Texas in the House, and Emily Randall (D-Wash.) will be the first out LGBTQ Latina representative.
+ After the election, Democratic governors including Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) and JB Pritzker (D-Ill.) began calling for their state legislatures to take action to protect human rights ahead of Trump’s inauguration. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) warned Trump: “If you try to harm New Yorkers or roll back their rights, I will fight you every step of the way.”
+ Over 100 Texas OB-GYNs wrote a letter urging the state’s lawmakers to change Texas’ strict abortion ban. The letter was delivered in response to two Texas women who died at the expense of the states abortion ban.
“Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain should be alive today,” said the doctors in their letter. “As OB-GYNs in Texas, we know firsthand how much these laws restrict our ability to provide our patients with quality, evidence-based care.”
How We’re Doing
+ Significant losses across the board signal that the Democratic Party failed to increase voter turnout for Vice President Harris, in the few months she was able to campaign. Exit polls show Donald Trump made inroads with young men and men of color, and led significantly among white non-college educated voters.
- Trump’s support rose sharply among Latino men. In 2020, he lost that demographic by over 20 points. This year, he won them by 12 points.
- Trump also gained support among Black men, doubling his support from Black men under age 45 to 30 percent.
- About 80 percent of Black voters supported Harris, down from the 90 percent who voted for Biden in 2020. She also won slightly more than half of Hispanic voters, down from 60 percent when Biden won.
- The voting habits of white Americans stayed largely the same since 2020, with 40 percent backing Harris. Once again, a majority of white women voted for Trump, while most Black women and Latina women chose Harris.
- LGBTQ voters were even more Democratic this year, with 86 percent supporting Harris; 62 percent of LGBTQ voters said they would be scared if Trump won, and 59 percent are strongly pro-choice.
+ The California state Senate achieved gender parity, and the legislature as a whole may reach parity as well. Only three other states—Arizona, Colorado and Nevada—have ever reached state legislature gender parity.
+ Over 600 Black women were on the ballot this year.
+ Overall, the number of women running for House seats dropped by 20 percent. Women were just 16 percent of Republican and 46 percent of Democratic House nominees.
+ On Wednesday, Nov. 7, The Trevor Project saw a 700 percent increase in crisis calls from LGBTQ+ youth. The organization provides a lifeline via phone, online chat or text to LGBTQ+ youth.
