With Val Demings' and Cheri Beasley's Losses, There Are Still No Black Women in the U.S. Senate

With Val Demings’ and Cheri Beasley’s Losses, There Are Still No Black Women in the U.S. Senate
11/9/2022 by Candice Norwood
The president’s party typically loses seats in the midterms, and Demings and Beasley each lost in Republican-leaning battleground states, Decision Desk HQ projects.


Val Demings speaks to her supporters during the Park To The Polls event on November 5, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. Democrat Demings was vying with incumbent Republican Sen. Marco Rubio for Florida’s U.S. Senate seat. (Photo by Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

This article was originally published by The 19th.

The Senate has had no Black women since Kamala Harris became the country’s first woman vice president nearly two years ago. This year, two candidates had a chance of changing that: Cheri Beasley of North Carolina and Val Demings of Florida. Both Democrats, they emerged as competitive candidates in races that favored their Republican opponents, even surpassing them in fundraising. But both fell short Tuesday, Decision Desk HQ projects, and the Senate will remain without a Black woman. The president’s party typically loses seats in the midterms, and Demings and Beasley competed in Republican-leaning battleground states. Demings lost to Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who was first elected in 2010, and Beasley to Rep. Ted Budd in the race for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

“It’s very disturbing that we would continue to have zero Black women senators for this next term. It’s another indicator that we are failing to be a truly democratic society,” said Nadia Brown, professor of government and chair of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at Georgetown University. “We know that more diversity produces better outcomes, and so having people at the legislative table that have different lived experiences leads to better policy.”

Demings is a former chief for the Orlando Police Department who has served Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2017. Beasley spent two decades as a state judge and was the first Black woman to be chief justice of the North Carolina state Supreme Court.

Historically Black women candidates face a range of challenges in their efforts to win elections. This includes fighting racial stereotypes, and gaining the necessary funding and publicity to draw voters. Despite these hurdles, Demings and Beasley’s campaigns reflect women committed to running a race on their own terms. Both women also significantly outraised their Republican competitors.

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https://msmagazine.com/2022/11/09/election-2022-val-demings-cheri-beasley-black-women-senate/