More statistics than I have ever used before

I happened to catch the final Senate debate tonight on MPR and it was more interesting than I thought it would be. It surprised me that Mark Kennedy was not very well spoken in public- he seemed very nervous actually, though perhaps that was due to the crowd, which seemed to be slightly more supportive of Amy Klobuchar. They even laughed a couple of times at things that Kennedy said (and he was not trying to be funny). And although Fitzgerald (the independent party candidate) annoys the heck out of me, I do agree with him that 3rd party candidates do not get equal time in these debates, or in any general media coverage and that is frustrating. But on the other hand, the independence party has to realize that simply not being one of the other two choices is not enough of a platform. The candidates they run have to actually have some message, other than just saying "Vote for me! I am independent!" Or perhaps these candidates do have more to say than just that, but then they have a communication problem, because that is the only message getting across.
Hopefully, this midterm election will bring about some more female winners. 54% of the US population is women, but we only have a 15.1% representation in Congress, 14% of the seats in the US Senate, and 15.4% in the House of Representatives. (Stats are from Center for American Women and Politics) Do I think that I can't be represented by a man? No, not at all, but I do think that the representation in our government could more closely mirror the population. (This extends to race as well) Women still have to work three times as hard as a man to be elected to office, even though they are often more qualified to hold the position. Female candidates are largely the ones who have had to "prove" themselves ready for the office by working their way up from smaller positions to running for larger and larger races, whereas male candidates are more likely to just jump in and run. (Yes, I know, a gross generalization - but not an untrue one.)
But get this; before 1985, no woman had ever been elected Governor. Before 1985, no Democratic woman had been elected to the Senate in her own right. (there were a couple that inherited the seat from their husbands.) 1985! Although that was more than 20 years ago, that still boggles my mind. That is the sort of statistic I expect to see with a date of 1950 or 60 something attached to it. Not 1985. (These stats are from Emily's List an organization that helps get democratic women elected to office. Even better reading is Who is Emily?)
Anyway, make sure you vote on Tuesday (and I know you will vote- don't even get me started on how women died so that you would have the right to step into that little booth.)
I have no idea how to end this post... who left this soapbox lying around here?