GOP women candidates see inflation, crime, schools driving suburban women to vote Republican in 2022

Female Republican congressional candidates challenging incumbent Democrats say that inflation, spending, education and crime are winning issues for the GOP in the 2022 midterms. 

Despite a historic surge in inflation, the Democrat-led Congress has continued to move forward with large spending bills such as President Biden's nearly $2 trillion Build Back Better Act.

The bill is estimated to add more than $350 billion to the deficit over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Congress passed two large coronavirus stimulus bills under former President Trump. The Democratic-led Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in March of 2021 under Biden using budget reconciliation to avoid the legislative filibuster in the Senate. And earlier this month, the Democrats, with some limited crossover Republican support, passed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

Amanda Adkins, who is running against Democratic incumbent Sharice Davids in Kansas' Third Congressional District, was asked which issues she thinks are most likely to bring suburban female voters to the GOP in the 2022 midterm elections. 

"It really is about the economy, and it really is about the pocketbook when it comes to voters in our district," she said during a news conference on Tuesday with House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. Inflation "consistently comes up as a top issue for people because they're feeling the pinch at the gas pump.

She noted that this Thanksgiving was estimated to be the most expensive on record.

"If you take into consideration rising wages but then the impact of inflation, it's still somewhere between $1,500 to $2,000 in the negative for people in our district," she said. "So that is the overall issue that is driving a lot right now. But related to that, keep in mind, people recognize that a lot of that is due to federal spending, and an influx of money that's in the system. So they are very, very frustrated by the overreach of the federal government and by all the spending, so limited government this cycle is going to be a huge, huge issue."

Jeanine Lawson, running against Democratic incumbent Jennifer Wexton in Virginia's 10th CD, said rising crime and education issues are driving suburban women to vote Republican. She cited Glenn Youngkin's win in the recent Virginia governor's race as evidence.

"I can tell you in Northern Virginia, which we all know is a blue area, we saw a ground movement of suburban moms coming back to our party because of two key issues: the Critical Race Theory that is shoved down parents' and kids' throats, they are rejecting that," Lawson said.

"And also just the nonsense of soft on crime," she continued. "Obviously, they care about public safety, and they certainly care about what their kids are learning in public schools. And Glenn Youngkin highlighted how key those issues are. So I'm excited about the idea of taking education and winning with it because of our commonsense policies. And we are about, you know, uniting America, not dividing us, certainly, on the color of our skin. And that's what the far Left is all about today."

Lawson and Adkins were among the 8 GOP candidates formally endorsed on Tuesday by E-PAC, which was founded by Stefanik to increase the number of Republican women in Congress.

Stefanik described Biden's social and climate spending package, the "Build Back Better Act," as "Build Back Broke. "The Democratic Senate is currently considering the bill for passage through budget reconciliation, which wouldn't require votes from Republicans to pass in the 50-50 Senate.