PBS高端访谈:最具多样性的初选（在线收听）

Hari Sreenivasan: Both today's Nevada caucuses and next week's primary in South Carolina are bringing the most diverse electorate to the polls so far. Meanwhile, when it comes to gender in their own statehouses, there are stark divides. But that could be changing. I recently spoke with Capri Cafaro, a former Ohio state senator who is currently an executive in residence at American University's School of Public Affairs. First, let's talk a little bit about Nevada. How important is gender in the political context of a state where almost half the legislature are women?

Capri Cafaro: Actually, about 52 percent of Nevada state legislature making them the first in the country to have a female majority state, statehouse. So certainly Nevada has proven to be a leader when it comes to gender equity, gender parity and the electorate's willingness to vote for female candidates. They even have two female United States senators. So obviously, if they're, if history, if past is prologue, gender plays a very critical role in Nevada.

Hari Sreenivasan: What is the secret to Nevada's success in achieving this sort of gender parity in the legislature?

Capri Cafaro: A lot of it has to do with candidate recruitment and the fact that traditionally or historically, western states actually do have a higher number of women that both run and succeed in higher office there. I also think that it's possible, particularly in Nevada, with a very large, prominent and powerful labor union presence out there. So these kind of service industry unions oftentimes do invest a lot in recruitment, retention of women candidates all across the country.

Hari Sreenivasan: So they're able to help in the pipeline and actually encourage more women.

Capri Cafaro: That's right. That's right. Get in at the local level, in the state level. The fact that you have such a big presence of women in a Nevada legislature creates a circumstance whereby you have two United States senators that are female in a place like Nevada.

Hari Sreenivasan: All right. Let's turn the page a little bit. South Carolina, almost the inverse of the situation in Nevada. Now, I should point out, Nikki Haley.

Capri Cafaro: Nikki Haley.

Hari Sreenivasan: Was the governor of that state. Right. So it's not that they have been completely out of it, but that's how does that legislature fare?

Capri Cafaro: Very different from what we see in Nevada, where South Carolina has about a little less than 16 percent of their state legislature is female. They have no women representing them at the federal level either. You did mention former Governor Nikki Haley. So it is not without female presence, but there is absolutely an absence of female representation within their federal delegation and a very small number of women serving at the state level. Very similar to places like Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia, Mississippi. So, again, not out of the of the norm in the number of southern states.

Hari Sreenivasan: How much of this has to do with parties and their ability to recruit? I mean, is there a stronger recruitment pipeline when it comes to, say, labor unions in Nevada versus what the Republican Party is doing and how they're encouraging women to get in on the ground floor?

Capri Cafaro: Right. Well, there always has been a historic disparity between women running as Democrats versus women running as Republicans. You know, there were such high volumes of women running on Democratic tickets that that also resulted in women increasing their numbers in Congress in the midterm elections. Because of that, Republicans are stepping up their game and candidate recruitment of women all across the country in congressional races. South Carolina, one that is currently held by a freshman Democrat who is a man. And there are two women, actually Republican women running in the primary to try to unseat the current incumbent Democrat in South Carolina, won. It very well may be that we'll see a South Carolina congressional district represented by a woman potentially this year.

Hari Sreenivasan: All right. Capri Cafaro, executive in residence at the American University School of Public Affairs. Thanks so much for joining us.

Capri Cafaro: Thank you very much.

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：今天内华达州的选举投票和下周南卡州的初选是目前为止最具多样性的两个。与此同时，在性别问题上，也存在明显分歧。但这也不是一成不变的。近日，我跟前俄亥俄州参议员卡普里·卡法罗聊了聊，他现在住在美国大学公共事务学院，担任行政工作。首先，咱们稍微聊聊内华达州。性别在一个近半数议员都是女性的政治环境下有多重要呢？

卡普里·卡法罗：实际上，内华达州近52%的议员都是女性，这让女性占据了大多数的席位。所以，在性别平等以及为女性候选任投票的意愿上，内华达州是起到带头作用的。他们甚至还有2位女性参议员。所以，显然，如果过去只是序幕的话，那么性别在内华达州起到了非常关键的作用。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：内华达州实现这种性别平等的秘诀是什么呢？

卡普里·卡法罗：很大程度是因为候选人招募的方式有关，而且也因为一个事实——传统上来看，西部的一些州实际上有更多女性成功竞选了更高的职位。我也觉得西部的这些州有可能有很大、很突出、很强大的工会，尤其是在内华达州。所以，这些服务业的工会经常会对招募候选人、留存女性候选人下大手笔。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：这样一来，她们就能帮助流程的推进，鼓励更多女性加入。

卡普里·卡法罗：没错，是这样的。从本地或者州的层面来说是这样的。由于女性议员在内华达州的数量很多，就可能出现一种情况——在内华达州这样的地方，可能有两位女性参议员。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：好，咱们来稍微谈谈别的。南卡州的情况与内华达州恰好相反。现在就应该提到一个人——妮基·凯利。

卡普里·卡法罗：妮基·凯利。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：她是该州的州长。是的。所以，这个州也是在考虑中的，该州目前情况如何呢？

卡普里·卡法罗：该州跟内华达州情况非常不同，因为南卡州只有大概16%的议员是女性。在联邦层面上没有女性代表。你刚才也提到妮基·凯利。所以也并不是完全没有女性的存在，但联邦层面上是有女性存在的，但在州际层面上只有为数不多的女性。与田纳西州、阿拉巴马州、西弗吉尼亚、密西西比非常相似。所以，跟南部的一些州还是有共同之处的。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：这些之中有多少是跟党派以及招聘能力有关的？内华达州的工会跟共和党所做的事情相比以及跟他们鼓励女性更多参与进来的举动相比，是否有更强的招募流程呢？

卡普里·卡法罗：是的。历史上来说，女性竞选民主党议员和竞选共和党议员的差距是一直存在的。有很多女性竞选民主党候选人，所以中期选举中，女性的数量增加了。因此，共和党也加快进度在全国范围内招募各种族女性。南卡州的提名由一位民主党新人获得，此人是一位男性。初选中，有2名共和党女性竞选，想要取缔南卡州现在的民主党候选人，她们获胜了。所以，我们今年会看到南卡州由一位女性代表。

哈里·斯里尼瓦桑：好的，让我们感谢美国大学公共事务学院住校的行政工作人员卡普里·卡法罗加入今天的节目。

卡普里·卡法罗：谢谢大家。