ABSTRACT

A long line of research has shown that “when women run, they win,” but we know little about which women win. Based on a new dataset of US House candidates, this article examines partisan victory patterns among female candidates from 1980 to 2012. The relationship between party and election outcomes changes over time, yet Republican women face a much more difficult electoral environment than Democratic women. In addition, the electoral situation of Republican women has worsened in recent years, whereas that of Democratic women has improved. Democratic women candidates now dramatically outnumber Republican women candidates, and prospects for gender parity are further hindered by the dearth of Republican women who run. The partisan gap in women’s representation is likely to persist in light of the multiple ways in which Republican women are disadvantaged compared to Democratic women.