Welcome to the Media Round Up! This week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories.

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Americans Remain Wary Of Electing A Female President, New Poll Reveals
POLITICO, Elena Schneider

A Gender on the Ballot poll at American University’s Women and Politics Institute reveals a “complicated” picture of how voters view women in politics. While a majority of respondents support electing more women to office, four in ten Americans personally know someone who would not elect a woman to the White House, according to the survey’s findings. Additionally, female politicians face “persistent headwinds” over trust on key issues such as national security; they also endure double standards that their male counterparts do not, with voters saying a female president must be both “tough” and “likable.” Viva de Vicq, the survey’s lead pollster, said that voters “trust women on the issues that matter most and want to see more women in office. Yet when asked about the presidency, bias and narrow expectations resurface.”

What Women & Men Think About Women In Politics

Additional findings from the GOTB poll illuminate how women in the political sphere are viewed by voters. A sizable portion of the electorate still remains wary about electing a woman to the nation’s highest office – and the majority of these skeptics tend to be younger; 25 percent of women under 50 and 20 percent of men under 50 stated that they would not vote for a qualified female presidential candidate. Respondents were split on how former Vice President Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign influenced the prospects of future female candidates, with 40 percent of independent voters claiming that her run made it harder for other women to succeed. However, Harris is seeing a surge in enthusiasm among women voters on the economy, with 51 percent of women reportedly trusting Harris to address inflation, as well as the high cost of gas and groceries. On policy issues, voters said that they trusted women more than men to handle issues such as abortion rights, childcare, and gender equality. Men, however, were still seen as more capable of handling global conflicts.

McGrath Announces Second bid for McConnell’s Senate Seat
POLITICO, Cheyanne M. Daniels

On Monday, Amy McGrath officially launched a bid for Kentucky Senate, aiming to take the seat that is held by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is retiring. McGrath had previously ran against McConnell in 2019, which turned out to be one of the most expensive senate races in Kentucky’s history. Additionally, McGrath ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, where she raised nearly $8 million dollars and lost to Republican Rep. Andy Barr. The Democratic Primary will be crowded with state Rep. Pamela Stevenson, Logan Forsyth, and Joe Willett, accompanying McGrath. In the Republican primary, Barr, Daniel Cameron, and Nate Morris will compete.

 Mindy O’Neall Prevails in Race for Mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, Flipping the Seat

In a shocking election outcome, Democrat Mindy O’Neall flipped the Fairbanks, Alaska, mayoral seat Tuesday night. Mayoral elections in Fairbanks do not list party affiliations next to candidates’ names, but Republicans have held the role in Fairbanks for nearly a decade. The incumbent, conservative David Pruhs said, “The voters have spoken. I ran a good race. So did Mindy,” attributing his loss to low voter turnout and O’Neall having the support of the state Democratic Party. Fairbanks is Alaska’s second largest city, and O’Neall says her first priority as mayor will be addressing Fairbanks’ homelessness crisis, and revitalizing the city’s downtown area.

Once A Loyal Foot Soldier For Trump, Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Increasingly Bucking Her Party
NBC News, Melanie Zanona, Ryan Nobles, and Kyle Stewart

Over the past six months, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has publicly broken with President Donald Trump and the Republican party on several high-profile issues, making waves in Washington. Greene, once a “loyal foot soldier” for the Trump administration, has been critical of Trump’s strikes on Iran, called the situation in Gaza a “genocide,” and supports an effort to force a House vote to release files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. Republican sources familiar with the matter believe that she has grown increasingly disillusioned with her own party, feeling especially burned after the White House discouraged her from launching a Senate bid in Georgia this spring. In an interview, Greene said, “I’m not some sort of blind slave to the president, and I don’t think anyone should be. I serve in Congress. We’re a separate branch of the government, and I’m not elected by the president.”

Porter, Famous for Grilling opponents, Is Criticized for Demanding a Reporter be More ‘Pleasant’
CNN, David Wright

Katie Porter became a national figure among democrats for her sharp questioning of Trump Administration figures in House Oversight Committee Hearings. Porter is now running for governor of California, but has been experiencing scrutiny after threatening to walk out of an interview with CBS News in Sacramento. Reporter Julie Watts was pressing Porter with questions such as “What do you say to the 40% of California voters who you’ll need in order to win, who voted for Trump?,” and when Porter was standing firm on focusing her campaign on democratic voters, Watts would not give up. Porter felt the interview was unnecessarily argumentative, she stated “I want to have a pleasant, positive conversation, in which you ask me about every issue on this list. And if every question, you’re going to make up a follow-up question, then we’re never going to get there.” Porter is a former congresswoman who ran unsuccessfully for US Senate in 2024. She is a former law professor and protege of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.The moment drew national attention to a still-developing race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The 2026 Campaign Is Already Here for Women

With many filing deadlines and primaries on the horizon, the 2026 election is already on. Take a look at The Buzz: 2026 Potential Women Candidates, maintained by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. CAWP has identified 428 potential women candidates for Congress and statewide offices, including 137 Republicans and 289 Democrats. In anticipation, many organizations offer programs and services designed to help women on, or interested in, the campaign trail. The Women & Politics Institute at AU offers political leadership training in the WeLead program and CAWP provides leadership training for girls and women through a network of schools and universities. In addition, the Women’s Public Leadership Network offers a podcast series – “Tips from the Trail,”- exploring the path to political office. This week features “Protect Your Campaign: Michael Kaiser on Digital Security for Women Running for Office.”

Leadership positions around the world where women are…and aren’t

Two notable firsts in women’s leadership occurred this week. The Church of England named Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to serve as ceremonial head of Anglican Christianity worldwide. Japan is also making history with their ruling party picking hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi as its head on Saturday, putting her on course to become the country’s first female prime minister. Although there has been progress in women’s leadership over time, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that far too often women remain absent, including in peace talks around the world. The number of women in uniform as U.N. peacekeepers has doubled, women have led local mediation, advanced justice for survivors of gender-based violence, and women’s organizations have been instrumental in promoting recovery from conflicts and reconciliation. However, since a landmark U.N. resolution demanded equal participation for women in all efforts to promote peace 25 years ago, there are still far too few women present. Guterres said too often…nations fall far short of the resolution’s demand for equal participation of women in peace negotiations.

The UN Calls Conversion Therapy ‘Torture.’ Could the Supreme Court Greenlight it Anyway?
The 19th, Kate Sosin

The United Nations concluded that conversion therapy could amount to torture, and recommended its banning, five years ago. On Tuesday, the U. S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the topic that could lead the Court to greenlight conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth across the nation. Conversion therapy is condemned by all major medical associations in the United States, including the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Medical Association. Historically, conversion therapy involves acts of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse against minors. Currently, twenty-three states and Washington, D.C., have conversion therapy bans in place, however the results of this case could change all of that. Notably, the case comes down to an argument over free speech. While proponents of conversion therapy argue that the right to practice conversion therapy is protected under the First Amendment, opponents argue that conversion therapy should be classified as conduct, not speech.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins the Nobel Peace Prize
AP, Kostya Mane, Geir Moulson, Mike Corder

María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader against President Nicolás Maduro’s government, won the Noble Peace Price for recognition for her work as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.” Machado was set to run against President Maduro; however, she was disqualified by the government and was forced to live in hiding. The crackdown on dissent has increased after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council has been stacked with Maduro loyalists, who have declared him the winner despite credible evidence against this. Maduro was sworn into office in January for his third six-year term and opposition has generally decreased. Machado is the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize out of the 112 individuals who have been honored.