In a turn of events that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, two transgender women have won primary races and are now the Democratic candidates for Congress, one for the US Senate in Utah and the other for the US House of Representatives in Colorado. By a coincidence, both of them have the same first name of Misty.

Misty K. Snow will run against tea party favorite Sen. Mike Lee in Utah this November, while Misty Plowright will challenge Rep. Doug Lamborn in Colorado. Both women will face uphill battles this fall: Snow in Republican-heavy Utah and Plowright in Colorado’s 5th congressional district, the most conservative in the state.

Snow, a 30-year-old grocery store clerk from Salt Lake City, beat her primary opponent by nearly 20 percentage points. She ran to the left of her more moderate opponent Jonathan Swinton, criticizing him for supporting limitations on abortion rights, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report.

Plowright, who is 33 years old and works in IT, was similarly successful in her district, located near Colorado Springs, Colorado. She earned the Democratic nomination there by winning more than 13,000 votes while her opponent earned just over 9,600.

Snow says that she was inspired by Bernie Sanders to run on a progressive platform.

Calling for a $15 per hour minimum wage, paid family leave, legalized marijuana, criminal-justice reform and free or reduced tuition for higher education, Snow was greatly inspired by the Bernie Sanders campaign.
…

“Snow jumped in the race shortly before the filing deadline because she wanted to offer an alternative to [Jonathan] Swinton, [a marriage therapist, Mormon and her opponent in the Senate Race], who described himself as a conservative Democrat who sought to govern as a centrist,” reported the Salt Lake Tribune.

But Utah Democrats weren’t buying it. Snow won 59.4% of the vote.

Both of them are going to face tough battles in hostile political terrain, not just to win but will have to fend off the hateful personal attacks that are inevitably bound to be directed at them. After all, Fox News seems to be even concerned that the model for the Statue of Liberty may have been a man. It takes courage for them to run even though they may be perceived as sacrificial lambs in races that Democrats have little or no chance in winning,

Meanwhile on the Republican side too, long shot candidate Darryl Green won the primary for the Colorado senate seat and thus gets to challenge the Democratic incumbent Michael Bennett. Green seems to be firmly in the extreme right wing of the party.

Glenn managed to emerge from the crowded race with a cavalry of allies — Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and other Tea Party stars — and received more than a half-million dollars in campaign help from outside conservative organizations. He called himself “an unapologetic Christian, constitutional conservative” who promised to take an uncompromising approach to Washington if elected.

The Air Force veteran and three-time national collegiate powerlifting champion said he wouldn’t work across the aisle with Democrats and vowed to vote against fellow Republican Mitch McConnell if the current Senate Majority Leader sought to keep his post.