FROM ADVOCACY TO CANDIDACY: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF HOW INSURGENT MINORITY WOMEN CANDIDATES CONSTRUCT POLITICAL IDENTITY DURING U.S. POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

Abstract

This research explores the rhetorical strategies employed by insurgent minority women candidates in constructing their political identities during their campaigns, as they navigated the various barriers presented at the intersection of their race, gender, class, and nationality. The research studied the political campaigns of three working-class women who participated in the 2018 mid-term elections for the first time - Alexander Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Amy Vilela of Nevada. Using critical racial rhetorical criticism as the analytical approach together with Black and Chicana feminism as the theoretical framework, the study investigated how the three insurgent candidates leveraged their lived experiences as rhetorical resources and deployed specific discursive strategies to construct compelling political identities and assert their fitness for office while simultaneously challenging traditional political structures. The research revealed and provided a rich understanding of alternative ways that minority women deploy in constructing their political identities, leveraging non-traditional political practices to challenge the hegemonic political landscape and structure.