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Amy Klobuchar says there’s a ‘double standard’ for women in politics but says she can win

Sen. Amy Klobuchar argued Wednesday that there’s a “double standard” for women in politics, but says she expects to win the 2020 Democratic nomination because she’s “the best person for the job.”

During the CNN/Des Moines Register debate at Drake University Tuesday night, gender in politics became a focus amid a campaign feud between Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Warren said Monday that during a 2018 meeting between the two, Sanders told Warren that a woman couldn’t win the election.

Sanders has denied he made the remark, and Warren charged that a woman can beat President Donald Trump. She added that she and Klobuchar were the only candidates on the debate stage who have won all their elections — and are the only women.

“When we had that gender discussion last night, one of the things I wanted to add to it — and I’m the one for months now that’s been saying, ‘Yeah, there’s a double standard for women in politics, but I’ll make it’ — one of the things I wanted to add is that you want to have someone that can win. Man or woman,” Klobuchar told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day,” adding, “I bring people with me. I don’t shut them out.”

Asked about touting her winning record, Klobuchar said, “I’ve got receipts.”

“I think one of the points is I have won every race in a big, big way. And when I have won in these state races, it has actually been against men,” she said. “But yet I brought a lot of men with me, voting for me.”

Klobuchar and other female candidates have made taking ownership of their frustration with the political status quo focal points of their campaigns.

She previously told CNN’s Jake Tapper she and other fellow female senators running for president would not be on the debate stage if “we had the experience” of Democratic candidate and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, saying “Maybe we’re held to a different standard.”

Klobuchar also said on Wednesday gender has not affected her candidacy, and that while she’s proud to be a woman, it shouldn’t be the reason she gets elected.

“I would say things like, ‘You know, I’m proud to be a woman candidate. But you shouldn’t vote for me because of that,'” she said, recalling her sentiment in previous elections. “You should vote for me because I’m the best person for the job, best person to win and best person to get things done for you when I get into the job. And that’s the same argument I’m making as president. Just talking about gender doesn’t mean that is the reason to vote for you.”

Article Topic Follows: Politics

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