Arvina
Martin comes up short in her primary challenge of the incumbent
Wisconsin Secretary of State
Minnesota
is certain to elect a Native American woman as its next lieutenant
governor.
Then, the office of lieutenant
governor has an interesting history.
In some countries, the
lieutenant governor is the official representative of the sovereign
(the king or queen). Some lieutenant governors are largely ceremonial.
Some are private, close confidants to the governor. Others have
actual jobs, with a portfolio of responsibilities. Five states --
Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Wyoming -- don't even
bother with post.
And in Minnesota the two
party nominees for lieutenant governor are Native.
Republican Donna Bergstrom,
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, and Democrat Peggy Flanagan,
White Earth Nation, joined their running mates Tuesday and secured
a line on the November ballot. Bergstrom is running with Jeff Johnson
and Flanagan with Tim Walz.
Oh, what a year! Let's
put this in perspective. Two Native women are party nominees for
Congress. (One more, Amanda Douglas, Cherokee, has a primary at
the end of this month.) Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, in New Mexico
and Sharice Davids, Ho Chunk, in Kansas. Two Native women are party
nominees for governor; Democrat Paulette Jordan, Coeur d'Alene,
in Idaho and Republican Andria Tupola, Native Hawaiian, in Hawaii.
Four Native women are
Lt. Gov. nominees, Debra Call, Dena'ina, in Alaska, Anastasia Pittman,
Seminole, in Oklahoma and now two of them will face each other in
November.
I could not make this
up.
Not that this election
is a perfect landscape for Native American women. Tuesday night
Arvina Martin was defeated in her primary bid for Wisconsin Secretary
of State. But, and this is important, she took on an incumbent.
In a primary. Who would do that? Actually there is a history to
that, too. Ada Deer once ran for Secretary of State in that same
state. Make that twice. And Congress. Deer lost all of those races
but had a successful political career serving as Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department. The first woman to
do so.
It's easy to look at
these names, these lists of names, and think, it's a first. That
these women are breaking ground. And that's true because someone
else did that first.
In that sense Tuesday
night's election was a preview of elections to come. What if it
becomes routine for Native American women to be candidates on both
sides of the ballot? What if there is an expectation that Native
women campaign for offices to lead a state? What if tonight is the
beginning of the new normal?
This will be a fun election
to watch. Bergstrom has said how proud she is to be in a race with
another Native woman for the same office.
Flanagan tweeted tonight:
"Thank you, Minnesota. Together, Tim and I will hold the doors to
power open. We will invite the people most impacted by decisions
to be a part of those decisions. Let's do this!"
At the victory rally,
Flanagan acknowledged the historical nature of two Native American
women competing for this office. "So Donna Bergstrom, here we go,
sister."
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