Good afternoon,

This weekend, we celebrated Women's Equality Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment which granted all citizens the right to vote, regardless of sex. While women's suffrage was achieved in 1920, it would take decades for women of color to secure their ability to vote, and to this day, women continue to have to fight for their basic rights...

INCOMING ELECTION

• As August slips away, the 2024 presidential election is heating up, and last Wednesday's GOP debate showed America still has a long way to go to achieve gender parity.

• During the debate, Republican presidential candidates advocated for a federal ban or supported states' bans against abortion. None of the men (and noticeably only one woman) stood up for women's reproductive rights, despite a majority of Americans saying abortion access has already become too difficult.

• The economics of abortion are clear: women who can access abortion services experience higher educational attainment, higher workforce participation, and higher wages. With abortion and a woman's right to make her own health care decisions on track to be a central issue in the 2024 election, voters will be on the lookout to see which candidate is willing to stand up for their rights and well-being.

• Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump opted not to join the debate stage, but he's back to hogging the headlines. All press is seemingly good press to the Republican frontrunner as he joins the lineup of history's most famous mug shots and prepares for one of his four upcoming court dates. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that Trump's January 6 election subversion trial will begin March 4, 2024, the day before the Super Tuesday primary.

• Speaking of the 2024 election, OCP founder and former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp joined C-SPAN to discuss the role of rural voters in the race.

• Fox Business: Rural America is experiencing a strong recovery thanks to Biden administration investments
• KXXV: Popular rural energy program faces political uncertainty
• Source NM: Indigenous women navigate abortion access hurdles post-Roe
• Nebraska Public Media: SNAP remains a target for the GOP even as the farm bill deadline looms and food insecurity rises
• WPRI: Schoolkids in 8 states can now eat free school meals, advocates urge Congress for nationwide policy

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