-Congress is an elite institution.
In the early days of our country,
our Congressmen were wealthy, white landowners,
and that's the only people who had access to run.
And so I do think that while the gates have opened
and now everyone has the legal opportunity to run for Congress,
there are certainly barriers in place.
-Throughout American history,
women have been under-represented in Congress,
women of color even more so.
Right now they make up only 7% of Congress.
-We can't shy away from the fact that we continue to have racism
and discrimination in this country.
That definitely breeds over to the political realm.
-So, women of color face specific
and different challenges than other groups
that are distinct from white women and black men.
In particular, women of color
usually face challenges raising money.
Their networks are typically other women of color,
who don't earn as much money.
-Despite these hurdles, women of color running this year
see 2018 as an opportunity to challenge the status quo.
-From the very start, I think people doubt your abilities.
-We cannot mess up.
We cannot make mistakes.
-Being a woman of color and running,
people find that very exciting, and they're energized by that.
Does that come with some negativity, as well?
I do think so.
-I don't get the same number of do-overs
that my opponents in the primary got.
And so what did we do?
We were excellent.
-And so I think the time is now for women,
but also for women of color.
-How are you? Nice to see you.
-Yeah! -Deb Haaland.
I'm running for Congress.
Nice to see you all.
Nice to see you.
It's a sad fact that in any picture
that you would see of Congress, no native woman or native girl
has ever seen themselves in that picture.
Happy Fourth of July.
Deb Haaland. I'm running for Congress.
-Deborah Haaland is the Democratic
running in New Mexico's 1st Congressional District.
If she wins, she'll become the first
Native-American woman to serve in Congress.
-Our win is a victory for working people.
Like, I'm passionate about the Indian vote.
I'm passionate about not just Native-Americans,
but any under-represented communities
having a voice in our public discourse.
-Thank you so much. -It's about time.
I hope you win.
I really do. -Thank you so much.
Thank you. Here.
-Haaland is a single mother who has spent nearly two decades
in state politics, working with native tribes.
-The United States has a trust responsibility to Indian tribes,
and so often,
Indian tribes haven't been invited to the table
to give their perspective from their community's standpoint.
So if I can inspire young native girls to step out
and even run for student-body president,
I think that we have a future with more native women in it.
? By the twilight's last gleaming ?
-Sometimes, there is a stereotype
that maybe Asian-Americans are perceived as foreigners.
There might be a perception to some that
I am somewhat less American than someone else,
and that's certainly not the case,
because I'm as American as you can get.
As Korean-Americans, we all as a community have made
incredible contributions to the fabric of this society.
-Pearl Kim is a Republican candidate
running in Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.
Kim is disturbed by the rhetoric on immigrants
coming from her own party.
-Yeah, I've certainly been frustrated
with some of the rhetoric towards immigrants,
because, being the daughter of immigrants,
my parents and myself have obviously contributed greatly,
and I've been able to serve publicly.
And so for me, it's very important
that we welcome immigrants to our country
and that we find means and ways to do that.
And I think that's also why people are so excited
to see me running,
with my story and my background, being the daughter of immigrants
and wanting to serve in this type of office.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome. Hi.
-I get really excited about this moment
and the opportunities as a young woman
and person of color to hold this role
and to advocate and work on and introduce policies
that could help our future.
-Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse,
is a Democratic candidate running for Illinois'
14th Congressional District.
She ran against six men in her primary and won.
-I think about the opportunities
as an African-American woman in a space where my district
is not a majority/minority district.
And so what that means is I can both represent my community,
fight for a fair farm bill,
fight for issues that support families,
fight for commonsense gun reform,
and, then, also, fight for issues
that will help people of color all across this community,
because candidates of color
reflect the communities that we live in.
Really, this political climate has mobilized people,
that they are tired of the status quo.
They're tired of not being represented.
And so they say, "I'm gonna do it for myself."
This hopefully should be a wake-up call
to the political parties, first of all,
to see women of color as viable candidates,
not just a whim, not a fluke, not someone who has an idea
that might push the party to the left or the right,
but that they actually have views
that should be center or mainstream.