A few months ago, I was feeling especially hopeless about the election. But in July, something miraculous happened: Joe Biden dropped out of the race. His replacement was Vice President Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian woman whose very embodiment defies Donald Trump’s white hegemonic vision of America. My reaction — a clenched knot loosening in my stomach — was immediate and visceral. It felt like hope. Hope that our collective future might actually get better come November. The feeling was shared by millions: Harris broke donation records in just 24 hours. Megan Thee Stallion performed at her first presidential rally, and Hotties for Harris was born. As one woman told Refinery29 in our survey about the election, "Before I was apathetic and resigned to a probable Trump presidency, now I feel hopeful that change can happen if we speak out and stand together."

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The 2024 presidential election has been a bumpy ride with unexpected twists and turns. Between balancing a desire for radical change with our enduring skepticism of institutions that have consistently failed us, we’re exhausted — but with so many of our basic freedoms on the chopping block, apathy is not an option.At the same time, there’s a feeling of hope in the air.

How can we engage this energy to recognize the seismic implications of potentially having the first female, and Black and South Asian president, as well as the issues at stake, from reproductive rights, racial justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, and immigration to income inequality, climate change, and more? Whether it’s your first election or your 15th, you need a familiar place to learn and consider — but also to laugh, relate, and release.

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Donald Trump’s Vice-Presidential nominee, JD Vance, made his first major showing for the campaign at the U.S. VP debate last night. It was unlike anything I expected. The topic of abortion access came up and Vance took a stance that sounded much closer to a Democratic one. “There's so much that we can do on the public policy front just to give women more options,” he said. Vance was asked about Project 2025’s assertion of abortion surveillance and federal monitoring of pregnancies and miscarriages – in part, for the purpose of enforcing conservative policy.

He quickly denied that he or Trump would support such a policy and pivoted, “I want us, as a Republican Party, to be pro-family in the fullest sense of the word.” I was as stunned as Democratic nominee for Vice President, Tim Walz. “I agree with a lot of what Senator Vance said about what's happening,” Walz admitted earnestly. “His running mate, though, does not. And that's the problem.” Despite the cordial rapport between the two candidates, make no mistake: JD Vance is just as — if not more — dangerous than Donald Trump. — BY BREA BAKER

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