Gardner campaign stuck to women’s issues—and won

Political strategists across the country are nursing hangovers and debriefing the last few months — what worked and what didn’t. The most important lesson learned came out of Colorado where a white, middle-aged, male Republican schooled his opponent on how to connect with women, proving the “War on Women” rhetoric stale and irrelevant.  

Senator-elect Cory Gardner (R) turned the tired, faux feminist victimization on its head and into a strong offense for leadership on issues that really matter to women for 2016. It was part strategy, part personality; but the key was that Gardner talked to us like we have minds. Other politicians would be wise to take note. 

{mosads}During this election cycle much media attention was given to Sen. Mark Udall’s (D) one-issue campaign summing up a woman’s biggest concerns as sex and reproduction and that he (Udall) was our great sexual liberator. As many women have been trying to point out for two years, birth control is not the defining issue in our lives. We know that all issues are women’s issues and we find it belittling to see ads like the one Udall ran suggesting that running out of condoms is the biggest threat to a woman’s well-being. 

Worse are Republican politicians who engage in this mindless rhetoric. The reality is, most American women are not defined by their reproductive anatomy. We are single, married, sisters, mothers, daughters and grandmothers. We want economic opportunity, high quality healthcare, affordable goods and services, and greater well-being for all the people in our lives, including men. We have sons, brothers, fathers, husbands and uncles. There is no us versus them. Gardner’s platform showed that he “got” that and other politicians should follow his lead.    

“No one has been hurt more than women across the country in this failed economy,” Gardner stated in an October interview on Fox News.  Throughout his campaign, Gardner refused to be distracted from the real issues that weigh on the hearts and minds of all women – jobs, loss of income, increasing food prices, increasing healthcare costs and lost opportunities. 

Rattling off facts that median household income in the state has declined by over $4,000, people are working fewer hours, food prices have sky rocketed, and 340,000 Coloradans had their health insurance cancelled when the ACA went into effect, shows that Gardner understands the issues Coloradans worry about on a daily basis. And, he stuck to offering solutions for how to tackle them, refusing to enter into the fabricated “War on Women.” 

“I think this campaign should aim higher,” Gardner stated, smoothly dismissing Udall’s attempts to distract while seamlessly refocusing on the core economic issues: sensible economic policy that “protects our environment, makes college affordable, expands our energy resources and gets our economy back on track.” 

From energy to jobs to healthcare, Gardner was specific about the problems and specific about his solutions. His ad about striking the balance between responsible energy policy and jobs reflects his understanding of Colorado’s unique economy and the need for thoughtful, dynamic policy solutions that side-step partisan lines on these issues. 

Women deserve more than politicians that belittle and insult them with campaigns that narrowly focus on reproduction. We can handle the bigger issues like energy policy, economic growth, and healthcare reform. We expect politicians to talk to us about the solutions and not just the problems.  

The “War on Women” will likely be rekindled as 2016 approaches. It’s up to future politicians to show women more respect than to engage in small-minded sexual identity politics from another era. Talk to us about the hard issues, offer ideas—after all, we are women and we can handle it. 

Stefano is the vice president of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative political advocacy organization. She is the host of “Friday’s with Stefano and Daniels” on WNTP 990am in Philadelphia. You can follow her on twitter at @jenniferstefano.