For Ms Gibson, a talkative 54-year-old who still maintains traces of her native Alabama accent, the answer was clear: Get more women into office. That’s why she’s mounting a bid to replace Republican Representative Bill Hager, who will reach his term limit in 2018 – and encouraging other women to follow suit.
"I absolutely encourage other women to run,” she said. “But I would say that the person running needs to have a pretty thick skin, because the media will see what you're made of."