Gloria Steinem Instagram – As Election Day approaches, I am reflecting on past campaigns that have inspired me. Not all of them were successful. One near-win in particular that has stayed with me is that of Lynn Yeakel’s 1992 run against Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who had been the most bombastic and condescending member of the Judiciary Committee during the Clarence Thomas confirmation – and the one who accused Anita Hill of “flat-out perjury.” Yeakel, a community leader from Philadelphia who had never been elected to anything, was watching this abuse of power on television, as were millions of others, when she decided to take Specter on. As she began to surpass him in the polls, he became just as vicious toward Yeakel as he had been toward Anita Hill. When he couldn’t find anything to accuse his opponent of except being new to politics, he found fault with her husband, her father and her minister, thus conveying the idea that she was controlled by them. Yeakel fought back with facts and good humor. Though he was able to outspend her by two-to-one, she ended up with 47 percent of the vote to his 49 percent, the balance going to a third party candidate. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but Yeakel, a virtual unknown, had come from nowhere, and almost beat a powerful sitting Senator. This year, there are so many candidates who embody the same spirit and determination. But the margins are still thin. Your vote can make all the difference.