The 2018 midterm election has been widely called the "year of the woman," but it's really the year of the Democratic woman.
Why it matters: More women are registered to vote than men, women vote in higher numbers than men and there's been a gender gap in every midterm election since 2006 and every presidential election since 1980. In polls this cycle, Democrats have led among women by 20 percentage points on average.
- Of course, a gender gap alone doesn't guarantee success for Democrats — just look at 2014 and 2016. But the key difference this year is the number of women voting for Democrats and the number of women running as Democrats.
Be smart: "The level of enthusiasm among women is going to bear directly on Democratic success," said Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at the University of Virginia. "If there is a blue wave, that will exist in part because of women."