Several Dem women leaned into their identity this cycle. Not in the way you think.

When Annie Andrews announced her longshot campaign for U.S.

Senate last May, the Democrat from South Carolina pitched herself as a “busy mom.”“Lindsey [Graham] is going to tell you I am radical, that I am crazy,” Andrews said in her launch video.

“But here’s the thing: I am literally a busy mom and a pediatrician who plays peek-a-boo with my patients, watches Bluey with my kids … and spends most of my free time shuttling them to dance, Tae Kwon Do and football.”Now, she is one of a record number of women who will serve in the next Congress.

And as a 46-year-old mother of three school-aged children, she’s among several Democratic women who flipped seats and governor’s mansions this November with campaign messages centered on parenting and affordability.It’s a notable campaign shift from previous election cycles: This year, female candidates focused less on the historic nature of their bids, or culture war issues that have long fomented divisions over gender and electability.

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