Emory professor: voters want a candidate who will fight
The Associated Press reported that the question of “what makes a real man” is a “potentially potent undercurrent” in several 2026 midterm races that could determine control of Congress. The wire service framed the gender question as an undercurrent running beneath more familiar campaign drivers, listing the Iran war, tariffs, inflation, immigration, taxes, and health care as the policy issues that will also define the cycle.
The AP described the masculinity question as the latest example of “tough-guy politics” since Donald Trump brought his own version of masculinity to the trail more than a decade ago. During that period, Trump belittled Republican rivals and defeated two Democratic women in his White House campaigns, the wire service reported.
Many Democrats are trying to project their own manhood — or at least more confidently deflect conservatives’ attacks — as they try to return to power, according to the AP.
“Democratic voters want a candidate who will fight,” Beth Reingold, an Emory University professor who specializes in gender and politics, told the wire service. “And that’s conceived as a sort of masculine demand, a more masculine approach, especially in response to Trump.”