Even in a year when women are expected to make strong political gains, there are no guarantees.

Beth Lindstrom, who came in third in the Republican primary for US Senate, and Gerly Adrien, who came in a close second in a Democratic primary for a state rep’s seat from Everett, explain why they ran for office and why they think they lost on CommonWealth’s Codcast, hosted by Democrat Jesse Mermell and Republican Jennifer Nassour.

Lindstrom says she faced both financial and political hurdles in her race against Geoff Diehl and John Kingston. She says she believes Massachusetts Republicans were open to her argument that she would back President Trump when he was right and oppose him when he was wrong, but she lacked enough campaign funds to get that message out.