A Reminder That The Fate Of This Election Could Be Determined By Women

When America heads to the polls on Tuesday to choose its next president, women will likely play a pivotal role. A new video, produced by Fusion, explores just how important women have been in this election cycle.

The election has been marred by overt misogyny, but it has also been a historic moment for women. Beyond celebrating the first woman presidential nominee for a major political party, Fusion anchor and special correspondent Alicia Menendez points out that there is more to be excited about: Depending on the results of the election, 2017 might mark the most women-populated Senate in American history. Plus, there are increasing numbers of women in journalism covering the election, and more women donating to political campaigns with bigger donations than ever before.

On top of these accomplishments, Menendez says that the most pivotal role women will play in this election is as voters.

“It’s women voters who stand between the Donald and the White House,” she says in the video.

For the last eight presidential elections, more women have voted for Democratic candidates than Republican ones. But, according to Menendez, this election is unique.

“Women voters tend to swing Democratic, but this year, the size of that gap is unprecedented,” she told The Huffington Post. “If you look back at 2012, Romney lost women by 8 points. Trump is losing them by anywhere from 14 to 20 points. There are other voting blocks that will play a big role ― white men for Trump, Latinos for Clinton ― but that gap among women is the one that will likely define the race.”

The October release of Trump’s hot mic moment with Billy Bush has proved to be particularly resonant with women. Hearing a presidential nominee brag about sexually assaulting women resulted in Clinton soaring in the polls (at least temporarily), and likely motivated more women to vote.

“Women voters were already poised to play a big role in this campaign,” Menendez said. “Trump’s comments, and the widespread response to those comments only served to increase the existing gap.”

Watch the full video above.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularlyincitespolitical violence and is a