Democrats need to win women in 2020. The debate showed the candidates know that.

[DonViejo]

Abortion, maternal mortality, and other issues that disproportionately affect women were front and center at the debate.

By Anna North Jun 27, 2019, 6:30am EDT

“Democrats have been talking about the pay gap for decades,” moderator Savannah Guthrie asked at the first Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday. “What would do you to ensure that women are paid fairly in this country?”

The question, and its answers, set a tone. Issues affecting women — as well as people of all genders who become pregnant — were front and center at the debate.

It wasn’t just pay equity. The candidates also had an extended exchange about abortion rights, and brought up maternal health, child care, and violence against trans women of color. Not every exchange was equally illuminating; candidates ultimately offered relatively unimpressive proposals for closing the pay gap, for instance. But they did bring up issues that aren’t always heard on a debate stage, as when former housing secretary Julián Castro put abortion rights in the larger context of reproductive justice.

The Democratic Party has long relied on female voters, especially women of color, for its victories. But on the campaign trail, presidential candidates haven’t necessarily focused on issues that disproportionately affect women. While abortion usually gets some airtime, child care, for example, is being taken more seriously this election cycle than at any time in the recent past.

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https://www.vox.com/2019/6/27/18760657/democratic-debate-june-2019-2020-gender-abortion