民主党人越来越有信心，在通过支持女性候选人在竞争激烈的选区取得优势后，明年众议院的女性议员人数将创下历史新高。
Democrats are increasingly confident they will have a record number of women serving in the House next year, after backing women in competitive districts they are now positioned to win.
在期中选举中全力争取国会控制权的民主党人，也在向其阵营的一个重要里程碑迈进：选举至少100名女性进入众议院。在这个仍然主要由年长白人男性主导的立法机构中，这将是有史以来女性人数最多的一次。
Democrats pressing to win control of Congress in the midterm elections are also reaching for a major milestone in their ranks: electing at least 100 women to the House, the most ever in a legislative body that is still heavily dominated by older white men.
随着女性候选人在许多决定众议院多数党归属的关键选区展开竞争，民调也显示该党在这些竞选中不断取得进展，民主党人预计明年其阵营中的女性人数可能高达113人。
With female candidates competing in many key districts that will determine the House majority, and polls showing the party gaining ground in those contests, Democrats are projecting they could have as many as 113 women in their ranks next year.
新墨西哥州民主党众议院女性核心小组主席、众议员特雷莎·莱格尔·费尔南德斯在一次采访中表示：“我非常有信心，我们将突破100人大关。真正的问题是，我们能超出这个数字多少。”113人的最高预测只有在民主党赢得每一场竞争激烈的竞选时才能实现，其中包括一些更倾向于共和党的选区，即使在形势最好的年份，这也是一种极不可能出现的情况。
“I’m incredibly confident that we will pass that 100 mark,” Representative Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said in an interview. “The real issue is how far above it do we go.”The peak projection of 113 could only be reached if Democrats won every competitive race, including a few that more strongly favor Republicans, a highly unlikely scenario even in the best of years.
但即使达到100人，也将是一个在仅仅一代人之前还无法想象的最高纪录。1985年，支持堕胎权的民主党女性候选人的最大金主“艾米莉名单”（Emily’s List）成立时，众议院民主党核心小组中女性的比例还不到5%。而现在，这一比例正接近50%。
But even reaching 100 would be a high-water mark that was unthinkable just a generation ago. When Emily’s List, the largest funder of female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights, was founded in 1985, less than 5 percent of the House Democratic Caucus were women. Now, it is approaching 50 percent.
“在这个选举周期中，我们一直将女性放在核心位置，以赢得众议院的多数席位，”支持堕胎权的民主党女性候选人最大资助机构“艾米莉名单”的主席杰西卡·马克勒说。她指出，该组织支持的女性候选人占了众议院势均力敌选区的大多数。
“We have all along in this election cycle put women front and center to deliver the House majority,” said Jessica Mackler, the president of Emily’s List, who noted that women backed by the organization make up a majority of tossup House races.
这并非偶然发生。截至周一，随着六名新候选人的加入，该党旨在资助关键选区顶级竞争者的“红转蓝”（Red to Blue）计划中的46名民主党候选人中，有19人是女性。
That didn’t happen by accident. As of Monday, when six new candidates were added, 19 out of the 46 Democrats in the party’s “Red to Blue” program that funds top contenders in battleground districts are women.
“女性将以两种方式帮助民主党获得多数席位，”莱格·费尔南德斯女士表示。“我们将选出能够改变众议院格局的女性候选人，同时女性选民也将大规模投票支持民主党候选人，因为共和党政策影响最严重的两个群体正是拉丁裔和女性。”民主党社会主义者达里亚利扎·阿维拉·舍瓦利耶（左）和克莱尔·瓦尔德斯（右）均在其所属的稳固民主党选区中赢得了初选，几乎确保了她们在11月的大选胜利。
“Women are going to give Democrats the majority in two ways,” Ms. Leger Fernández said. “We’re going to elect women candidates who will flip the House, and it’s also women voters who will come out and overwhelmingly vote for Democratic candidates, because the two hardest-hit groups by the Republicans’ policies have been Latinos and women.”Democratic socialists Darializa Avila Chevalier, left, and Claire Valdez, right, both won their primaries for House seats in solidly Democratic districts, all but assuring their elections in November.
《纽约时报》记者安妮塔·普沙尔·塞拉报道：目前，众议院民主党党团中有97名女性议员（包括代表华盛顿特区和维尔京群岛的两名无投票权代表），这一数字创下了女性代表人数的新纪录，约占民主党议员的45%。
Anita Pouchard Serra for The New York Times Currently, there are 97 women in the House Democratic Caucus (including two nonvoting delegates who represent Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands), a record for female representation accounting for around 45 percent of Democratic members.
尽管部分女性议员即将退休，但民主党预计，在她们离任的同时，将有大量女性候选人加入，这些候选人将在民主党稳操胜券的选区参选，此外还有一些在民意调查显示对民主党有利的环境中，极有可能赢得激烈竞争席位的候选人，这将在明年带来更高比例的女性代表。
While some are retiring, Democrats expect those who remain to be joined by a large crop of women running in safe Democratic districts and others who are strongly favored to win competitive races in an environment that polls show is favorable to their party, resulting in even higher numbers next year.
民主党领导人寄予厚望的第一批候选人中，包括12名在开放选区或民主党稳占优势的选区参选的女性，例如科罗拉多州的梅拉特·基罗斯；纽约州的达里亚利扎·阿维拉·舍瓦利耶和克莱尔·瓦尔德斯；以及新罕布什尔州的斯特凡妮·沙欣。
The first tier of candidates Democratic leaders are counting on includes a dozen women who are running in open or safely Democratic seats, including Melat Kiros in Colorado; Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York and Stefany Shaheen in New Hampshire.
另外三名力争改变共和党主导选区格局的候选人也被认为极有可能获胜：在加利福尼亚州新划定的选区参选的玛尔尼·冯·威尔佩特；正在争取内布拉斯加州一个倾向民主党的席位（目前由共和党众议员唐·培根占据）的丹尼斯·鲍威尔；以及民意调查中领先于众议员汤姆·基恩小号的丽贝卡·贝内特——这位议员此前曾因抑郁症问题缺席国会超过100天，他后来公开说明了这一情况。
Three others pressing to flip Republican districts are seen as very likely to win: Marni von Wilpert, who is running in a newly drawn California district; Denise Powell, who is seeking a Democratic-trending Nebraska seat currently occupied by Republican Representative Don Bacon; and Rebecca Bennett, who is polling ahead of Representative Tom Kean Jr., the lawmaker who was absent from Congress for over 100 days for what he later revealed was a struggle with depression.
佩奇·科涅蒂（左）是宾夕法尼亚州斯克兰顿市的民主党市长，与众议员小罗布·布雷斯纳汉竞争宾夕法尼亚州第八区丽贝卡·库克，右，是在威斯康星州第三选区挑战众议员德里克·范奥登的民主党人。
Paige Cognetti, left, the Democratic mayor of Scranton, Pa., is running against Representative Rob Bresnahan Jr. in Pennsylvania's Eighth District. Rebecca Cooke, right, is the Democrat challenging Representative Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s Third District.
克里斯托弗·史密斯（Christopher Smith），《纽约时报》;蒂姆·埃文斯（Tim Evans）/路透社还有十几名女性参加了无党派库克政治报告（Cook Political Report）将其列为“扔东西”的竞选。莱格女士说，她相信其中三人或更多人将在11月获胜。其中包括一些最脆弱的共和党现任议员的挑战者，其中包括众议员小罗布·布雷斯纳汉（Rob Bresnahan Jr.）。
宾夕法尼亚州的珍·基根斯、威斯康星州的德里克·范·奥登、亚利桑那州的胡安·西斯科马尼、纽约州的迈克·劳勒和爱荷华州的玛丽安妮特·米勒-米克斯。
Christopher Smith for The New York Times; Tim Evans/Reuters A dozen more women are running in races that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report ranks as “tossups.”Ms. Leger said she was confident that three or more of them would win in November. They include challengers to some of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents, including Representatives Rob Bresnahan Jr. of Pennsylvania, Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Juan Ciscomani of Arizona, Mike Lawler of New York and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa.
如果少数民主党女性竞选科罗拉多州、佛罗里达州、爱荷华州和南卡罗来纳州更多倾向共和党的选区获胜，那么队伍可能会进一步膨胀。
If a handful of Democratic women running to flip more Republican-leaning districts in Colorado, Florida, Iowa and South Carolina prevail, the ranks could swell even more.
莱格女士表示，如果民主党赢得多数席位，她预计女性将成为明年关注儿童保育和老年人保育的议程的推动力。
Should Democrats win the majority, Ms. Leger said she expected women to be the driving force next year on an agenda focused on child care and elder care.
她说，在新墨西哥州，“我们有一个女性占多数的立法机构，有一位女性州长，我们有全民儿童保育;我希望看到这种进展。”罗格斯大学政治学教授凯利·迪特马尔表示，代表性“对于合法性的认知”也很重要。她说，越来越多的在立法机构任职的女性不仅改变了政策，而且“改变了机构本身”。
In her state of New Mexico, she said, “we have a majority-women legislature with a woman governor and we have universal child care; I want to see that kind of progress.”Kelly Dittmar, a professor of political science at Rutgers University, said that representation mattered also “for perceptions of legitimacy.”A growing number of women serving in legislatures not only changes policy but “changes the institutions themselves,” she said.
举个例子，迪特马尔女士提到了2020年发生的一起事件：来自纽约州的民主党众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯被一名男性共和党同僚骂作“他妈的婊子”。奥卡西奥-科尔特斯女士没有选择息事宁人，而是在众议院发表了一场演讲，将这个粗俗的词汇读进了国会记录中，其他女议员也纷纷起立，讲述了她们自己在权力殿堂中遭受性别歧视的经历。
As an example, Ms. Dittmar pointed to the reaction in 2020 to an episode in which Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, was called a “fucking bitch” by a male Republican colleague. Instead of letting it go, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez delivered a floor speech in which she read the vulgarity into the congressional record and other female lawmakers rose to recount their own stories of experiencing sexism in the halls of power.
莱格尔女士表示，在解决国会山的性骚扰文化方面，国会中拥有更多女性也将比任何政策变革都更有效。
Ms. Leger said having more women in Congress would also be more effective than any policy change in addressing the culture of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.
她说道：“当民主党党团中将近百分之五十的人都切身理解遭受性侵犯、性虐待和性骚扰是什么滋味时，对话的性质就变了。”
“When you have close to 50 percent of the Democratic caucus understanding what is it like to be on the other end of sexual assault, sexual mistreatment, sexual harassment, the conversation changes,” she said.
共和党在众议院的性别多元化程度要低得多，目前那里有32名共和党女性议员（包括两名无投票权的代表），约占其成员总数的15%，并且面临这些比例进一步下降的风险。为了维持该党在众议院的女议员人数，明智的做法是六名处于劣势的共和党女性必须在下个月成功击退各自的挑战者。
Republicans have far less gender diversity in their ranks in the House, where there are currently 32 G.O.P. women (including two nonvoting delegates) — around 15 percent of their members — and are at risk of those levels dropping further. To maintain the party’s number of female House members, it’s likely that six vulnerable G.O.P. women would have to succeed in fending off their challengers next month.
共和党在众议院的种族多元化程度也在大幅下降：目前在职的所有四名黑人共和党议员都将在明年离开国会。他们队伍中缺乏多元化是一个一些共和党战略家意识到需要解决的问题。“无论下个月的结果如何，共和党人都需要重新致力于建立一个反映我们选民的党团，”共和党战略家帕克·波林在社交媒体上写道，并补充说，“我们应该认识到不同视角对多数党的重要性。”2024年，众议员埃米莉娅·赛克斯在俄亥俄州彭宁顿参观一个正在建设中的女童军附属STEM中心。
The G.O.P. is also losing much of its racial diversity in the House: All four Black Republicans serving there are leaving Congress next year The lack of diversity in their ranks is an issue that some Republican strategists are aware needs a fix. “Regardless of the outcome next month, Republicans need to recommit to building a conference that reflects our voters,” Parker Poling, a Republican strategist, wrote on social media, adding, “We should recognize the importance of different perspectives to a majority.”Representative Emilia Sykes at a tour of a Girl Scouts-affiliated STEM center under construction in Peninsula, Ohio, in 2024.
《纽约时报》记者麦迪·麦加维报道：来自俄亥俄州的民主党众议员艾米莉亚·赛克斯表示，尽管女性议员数量不断上升，但她仍会时常感受到一些细微的提醒——她所服务的机构并未为她而设。
Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times Representative Emilia Sykes, Democrat of Ohio, said there were still small daily reminders that she served in an institution that was not designed with her in mind, even as the number of women climbed.
“椅子的尺寸是个问题，”赛克斯女士说，“我个子并不高大，但坐在那些特别大的椅子上时，我的脚总是悬空。”她还提到，有时会收到寄给“众议员先生”的信件，这让她感到困惑不已。
“The size of the chairs is a problem,” Ms. Sykes said. “I’m not a big person; sitting in the chairs that are very large, my feet dangle.”She said she sometimes receives letters addressed to “the congressman,” which boggles her mind.
“我会想：‘好吧，你来这里是为了争取数百万美元的拨款和重大的政策变革，但你们却连最基本的调查都没有，以至于不知道这位议员其实不是男性，’”她说。
“I think, ‘OK, you’re coming to advocate for millions of dollars and significant policy changes, and you have the lack of research to know the member isn’t a man,’” she said.
赛克斯女士表示，作为一名年轻的非裔女性，她进入国会的历程充满挑战：她坦言，筹集资金对她来说更为困难。当她最初想参选时，顾问们很快便将她忽略了。但她坚信那句格言：“如果你能看到它，那么你也可以成为它。”
Ms. Sykes said her journey to Congress as a young Black woman has been challenging: Fund-raising has been more difficult for her, she said. Consultants were quick to overlook her when she first wanted to run. But she said she was a firm believer in the mantra “if you see it, you can be it.”
“对于那些已经找到自身道路的女性而言，”她补充道，“她们所进行的斗争是令人敬佩的。”
“For the women who have found their way,” she added, “the fights that they’re fighting are incredible.”