We’re Watching How Women Running In Today’s Races Fare
Tonight, I will be subbing in for FiveThirtyEight contributor Meredith Conroy and keeping an eye on what’s going on with female candidates. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, women comprise roughly 27 percent of candidates for the House of Representatives so far this year and 23 percent of candidates for the Senate. But those toplines mask some pretty big differences by party — around one-third of Democratic House (36 percent) and Senate (31 percent) candidates are women, compared to just 21 percent of Republican House candidates and 19 percent of Senate candidates.
Several female candidates are running in California’s 37th District, where seven candidates are hoping to replace Rep. Karen Bass, who is running for mayor of Los Angeles rather than seeking reelection to the House. Two of the prominent front-runners in this race are women. State Sen. Sydney Kamlager has Bass’s support and the endorsements of other important groups like EMILY’s List, but former L.A. city council member Jan Perry has been endorsed by another important L.A. politician, Rep. Maxine Waters, so this could be a close race.
One of the Senate candidates I’ll be keeping an eye on tonight is Iowa’s Abby Finkenauer, who is vying with two other Democrats to take on Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley in the general election. Finkenauer is a former U.S. congresswoman who narrowly lost her seat to another woman, Ashley Hinson, in 2020. She’s now going up against Democrats Mike Franken and Glenn Hurst in the Senate primary. Finkenauer is leaning heavily on the hope that voters want young faces in the Senate. At 33, she definitely presents a contrast with 88-year-old Grassley, and has promised to only serve two terms if she’s elected.
Gubernatorial candidates are worth watching too — in part because executive-level races are particularly hard for women to win. Currently, nine women serve as state governors and all nine seats are up for reelection. That includes Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, who’s likely to face another woman, Democratic challenger Deirdre DeJear, in November. DeJear became the first Black woman to win a statewide primary in Iowa in 2018, but went on to lose the general election for secretary of state, and has so far struggled to keep up with Reynolds in fundraising.
We’ll be watching these female candidates — and many more — as the night unfolds.