Weekly Media Round Up: June 26, 2026

Gender on the Ballot Team | Jun 26, 2026

Welcome to the Media Round Up! We’ve collected and shared our favorite gender + politics stories from this week.

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SC’s 1st Congressional District Runoffs Both Won by Women, Setting up All-female Duel in November
Palmetto Politics, Caitlyn Byrd

The election to succeed Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in the 1st congressional district will be between two women, although similarities may end there. Republican County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt and Democrat Nancy Lacore, a retired Navy Admiral, quickly drew stark distinctions from one another on election night. Honeycutt is a lifetime resident of the area, and aligns herself with President Trump. Lacore, who served in Afghanistan, formally established residency in 2025 and characterized the Administration as corrupt. Both candidates received financial support from national organizations targeting women candidates: Honeycutt from the conservative Winning for Women group, and Lacore from the more progressive EMILY’s List. Cook Political Report recently changed its rating of the race from Solid R to Likely R.

Progressive Politics in New York

Eight years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was elected to Congress in a “shocking upset” victory, two progressive women of color won their primaries for the U.S. House on Tuesday. Democratic socialists Claire Valdez and Darialize Avila Chevalier – who are both backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani – won races that will likely reshape New York’s congressional delegation. Both Chevalier and Valdez have backgrounds in organizing and running populist campaigns: their victories are a “show of strength” for the left wing, and a sign of Mamdani’s popularity across New York City. The races attracted significant attention and millions of dollars in spending from outside groups, showcasing the prominence of progressive politics in New York.

June State Primaries are Shaping the Political Landscape for Women
GOTB Team

So far in June, eighteen states conducted primary elections for congressional and statewide offices. While it is premature to generalize about the status of women heading into the midterm elections, the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University provides timely analysis and context in its Election Results and Analysis. Results from June 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd primaries capture outcomes for major party women candidates, with ratings by Cook Political Report. If you’re looking for primary results from your state, or are interested in woman firsts, woman-to-woman races, women heading to runoff elections or incumbents toppled so far, keep checking back.

Mothering as a Judge in an Era of Death Threats
The 19th* News, Candice Norwood

Evidence that digital violence targeting women is on the rise is well documented. What is less known are the unique challenges of women judges and the impact on their children and families. While formal responses to threats can include increased security, restraining orders and even prison terms, women have had to change their behavior as well. “If we’re going on vacation, you can’t tell anybody,” Judge Jennifer Johnson of Florida tells her children, “You can never tell anybody. You can never give your address. And you post all your things the week after.” Judge Wendy Coats of California’ and her family moved to a gated community for safety, and no one is allowed to answer the front door — “ever,” she said.

Editor’s Note: Digital violence against women electeds affects Mayors as well. For more insight, read the “Now is the Right Time to Make it Possible for Women Mayors to Run and Lead” blog by former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, and watch “Under Pressure,” the webinar from the Women & Politics Institute about the Mayors Innovation Project.

There’s Menopause Legislation in the Works. What Does that Mean?
USA Today, Laura Trujillo

New legislation across several states has expanded workplace accommodations, medical education, and insurance coverage for menopausal women. Over half of U.S. states have introduced bills or passed laws around menopause in the last two years, offering help to thousands of women who have suffered through their symptoms in silence. In 2025, Rhode Island became the first state to mandate that companies offer accommodations to menopausal women; Maryland will soon require private insurance companies to cover menopause healthcare. “Menopause is a natural and inevitable part of aging,” said Rep. Joseline Peña-Melynk (D-MD), who wrote her state’s first bill earlier this year, “but because it’s a woman’s issue, it’s remained under-researched, under-discussed and stigmatized.”

The Pulpit is Just One Front in the U.S. War Against Women
Yahoo! News, Nathalie Beasnael

This month, the Southern Baptist Convention took its first formal step toward barring women from preaching. Almost three-quarters of the voting delegates at the convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, supported the proposal. Contributor Nathalie Beasnael contends that this is a “religious cover” for a much larger political movement: “the systematic narrowing of every space where women are permitted to hold authority.” As religious institutions are pipelines for community leadership in the United States, when women are banned from preaching, that effectively shapes “who is seen as fit to lead outside the church as well.” As a result, millions of women who attend church have watched their own congregation act – by a supermajority – to silence them.

The Tradwife Fantasy Isn’t Replacing Feminism
Ms. Magazine, Giovanna Destefanis

Despite the rise of anti-feminist rhetoric and the growing popularity of women returning to traditional feminine values, current data shows that feminism remains “remarkably popular,” especially among young women. As of 2025, 58 percent of women across the globe identify as feminists, and in the United States, 51 percent of people across genders identify the same. This reality sharply contrasts the messaging that conservative movements are curating about traditional values; while conservative organizers are attempting to attract young women through the “pink pill pipeline,” research continues to indicate that young women remain “one of the strongest constituencies for feminism.”

AI is Already Rewriting Reality for Billions of People. It is Getting Women Wrong
UN Women

A study of 133 AI systems found that 44 per cent demonstrated gender bias and 26 per cent demonstrated both gender and racial bias. Yet only 51 per cent of marketers currently use human oversight to test AI-generated creative before release. UN Women sets out what is at stake – and what must change – to build a gender-equal digital future:

The AI content era is here. And the window to shape it is closing fast.
Bias and discriminatory algorithms are not a glitch in AI – it is a pattern documented across systems at scale.
AI is intensifying violence against women and girls in digital spaces.
Women are being locked out of the rooms where AI is built.
The economic disruption of AI will fall hardest on women.
Inclusive AI is a commercial imperative.

To use generative AI responsibly and inclusively, consult The 3Cs Playbook: Skills for an inclusive AI approach from the Unstereotype Alliance and UN Women.