Schakowsky predicts ‘tsunami’ of women in midterms: ‘We’re gonna win’

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said on Tuesday that she is optimistic about Democrats’ chances in the midterms, owing in large part to the “tsunami” of women showing out in the lead-up to November’s elections.

“We’re gonna win,” Schakowsky told The Hill’s editor-in-chief, Bob Cusack, at Tuesday’s “Unlocking Access to Oral Health” event. “I’ve been an organizer for most of my life. I can never really remember a time when there is so much energy out there on the Democratic side.”

In particular, Schakowsky pointed to increased enthusiasm among women following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. Several states saw a surge of women registering to vote after the decision, according to an analysis from The New York Times.

“Any poll that was taken before the Dobbs abortion decision, forget it,” Schakowsky said at the event hosted by the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. “Throw it out the window because we are seeing a tsunami of women.”

The Illinois Democrat also noted that recent legislative successes, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, could be helping the Democratic Party.

The president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections, and polling up until recently suggested that Democrats would not fare well in November. However, Democrats have become increasingly optimistic about their chances in recent weeks. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyst, moved three more House races toward Democrats on Wednesday, after shifting several others in favor of Democrats earlier this month. Even as polling improves, some Democratic analysts have urged caution, as they worry that polling may be fueling false hopes as it did in 2016.