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Male Candidates Are No Longer The Default For President

Beto O'Rourke got lots of attention from his campaign kickoff in Keokuk, Iowa. And thanks to some of his comments, not all of that attention was good.

To some Democratic voters, his references to his wife seemed like a flip acknowledgment that he was handing off parenting duties while he pursued his political dreams.

He’s not alone — Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker are among the candidates also asked about how they would look beyond their male points of view.

All of which is to say that the men running — and, in particular, the white men running — are having to grapple with gender in a way they’ve never quite had to before.

No Longer The Default, Male Candidates Grapple With Identity Too

Photo Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images