A record 137 women have won major-party nominations for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004, according to figures compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). Ten women are candidates for the U.S. Senate and three for governor; neither figure sets a new record.
U.S. House of Representatives
One hundred thirty-seven women are general election candidates for the House, easily surpassing the record of 124 candidates in 2002, with three primaries still to be decided in Louisiana1 The House candidates include 85 Democrats and 52 Republicans. Among them are 57 incumbents seeking re-election (37D, 20R), as well as 18 candidates for open seats (9D, 9R) and 62 challengers facing incumbents (39D, 23R). (The three Louisiana candidates, all Democrats, include two seeking open seats and one challenger.)
In eleven districts, women oppose one another for House seats. Eight of these races feature incumbents facing female challengers, while three are for open seats.
“We’re pleased to see so many women running for the House, and we’d like to see a record number of winners,” notes Debbie Walsh, director of CAWP. “But the greatest potential for expanding women’s representation lies in open seats. While women are running for more than half of the 29 available open seats, with so few such seats available, the opportunities are very limited.”
Walsh added, “To make significant progress, we’ll need another landmark year like 1992, when there were 91 open seats. That year, more than one-third of the women candidates ran for open seats, and record numbers of women won.”
U.S. Senate
Ten women (9D, 1R) have won their parties’ nominations for the U.S. Senate this year. The candidates include five incumbents seeking re-election (4D, 1R), three women seeking open seats (3D), and two challengers (2D). There are Senate races in 34 states this year. The record number of women with major-party Senate nominations in one year, set in 1992 and tied in 2002, was 11.
Governor
Three women are candidates for governors of states in 2004; they include one incumbent (Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, D-DE) and two women running for open seats (Christine Gregoire, D-WA and Claire McCaskill, D-MO). There are gubernatorial races in 11 states this year. Most gubernatorial races occur in non-presidential even-numbered election years; in two such years, 1994 and 2002, a record 10 women won major party nominations for governor.
About CAWP
The Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a university-based research, education and public service center. Its mission is to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women’s changing relationship to politics and government and to enhance women’s influence and leadership in public life. CAWP is a leading authority in its field and a respected bridge between the academic and political worlds. www.cawp.rutgers.edu
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