Not all female candidates are running because of Trump

Pearl Kim, Anna Eskamani, Deidre DeJear, and Morgan Zegers don’t have much in common. But they all agree on one thing: They never thought they’d become politicians.

That changed in the last two years. Frustrated over issues like sexual assault, gun violence, voting rights, and corruption, these four women decided to join the historic wave of women running for office and — in this first installment of the four-part web series “She’s Running” — launch their own campaigns. Over the past two years, more than 2,000 women did the same.

While President Donald Trump looms over each woman’s campaign, their decisions to run weren’t all motivated by his 2016 victory. “After the president was elected, I certainly had some concerns. But I also respect the voters and the office of the presidency,” Kim said. DeJear added, “I literally did not think it was the end of the world.”

Each woman could make history in this year’s midterm elections on Nov. 6.

• Democrat DeJear, who’s running for Iowa secretary of state, could be the first African-American to be elected statewide in Iowa.
• Republican Kim could become the first Korean-American woman in Congress, if she wins her race for Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District.
• Democrat Eskamani could be the first Iranian-American elected to the Florida Legislature.
• Republican Zegers could become the youngest-ever member of the New York state Assembly.

“I see a lot of women explaining that they’re running because we need women in office, and I think that’s the wrong way to do it,” Zegers said. “We can be women and also run for office because we have serious issues in our community.”

Tune in Tuesday and Wednesday for Parts 2 and 3 of the “She’s Running” web series. If you can’t wait, watch VICE News Tonight on HBO’s “She’s Running” series, following Democrat Katie Hill’s campaign for California’s 25th Congressional District, andsign up for VICE News’ weekly “She’s Running” newsletter, tracking all things women in politics.