DOVER, N.H. — They don’t like identity politics and aren’t crazy about the word “feminist.” But a lot of conservative women here can’t help but rejoice that they may have a couple of tough-talking, tea-drinking mothers to choose from in the Republican primary.
Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is on the verge of announcing her intentions, and former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is contemplating a bid. If either runs, it would be the first time since Elizabeth Dole’s bid in 1999 that a viable female candidate has sought the Republican nomination for president.
The prospect has energized conservative women who four years ago were deeply uncomfortable with Hillary Rodham Clinton but who see in Bachmann and Palin the kind of family-focused, overtly spiritual candidate whose lifestyle and values seem to mirror their own.
“Who runs the households of America? Women do. Why not the country?” Andrea Ouimette, 64, said at a recent GOP picnic that featured Bachmann as the keynote speaker.
The inclusion of Palin and Bachmann in the mix of candidates caps a blockbuster year in which women were credited with helping the GOP retake control of the House. Women occupy many of the leadership roles in the tea party movement, which reshaped the 2010 midterm elections. Nine GOP women joined the House last year, one joined the Senate, and three won governorships in November.
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