More women than ever before are running for public office on the state legislative level, for the US House of Representatives, and for the state governorships and the US Senate.
Particularly in the Democratic Party, women will have a much greater role after the midterm elections, no matter who might lose.
2018 is the greatest year of women candidates for public office, surpassing 1992 and 2012, and the difference is that this round is a midterm election, while the other two were years of presidential elections.
So 53 women are running for the Senate and 476 running for the House of Representatives, while in 2012, the numbers were 36 for the Senate and 298 for the House, and in 1992, the numbers were 11 for the Senate, and 106 for the House.
There are presently 23 women Senators, and the numbers, depending on results in the midterm, could increase to 26, or if a number of women Senators lost their seat next week, the number could be as low as 16.
The Democrats have 17 women in the Senate, with the Republicans having six at the present time. Jacky Rosen in Nevada and Kyrsten Sinema in Arizona, along with Republican Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee, could raise the number up to 26, assuming all women running for reelection were to keep their seats.
12 women are running for governor, and there are six women governors at present. Stacey Abrams in Georgia, who is African American; Laura Kelly in Kansas; Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan; Molly Kelly in New Hampshire; Janet Mills in Maine; Christine Hallquist in Vermont; and Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico, all Democrats, seem to have strong possibilities of being elected, joining two other Democratic women governors, and four Republican women governors at present.
Although she is affiliated with the Republican Party, also counted is Kristi Noem (b. 11.30.1971), the nominee from her political party for Governor of South Dakota. That race is in tossup status. Last year on record the Democrats won the governorship of South Dakota was in 1974 (re-election for Dick Kneip). If Noem, the state’s at-large congresswoman, wins she will become the first female governor in the history of the state of South Dakota.
You are correct, D, and I should have mentioned Kristi Noem. Thanks!
It’s fine, Ronald.
There is a lot of information to cover when especially getting into statistical facts which also speak to history.
I was looking at “Wikipedia,†and came across—and I was momentarily forgetful—that South Dakota, since its first vote in 1892, follows Alaska as having been historically the most reliably Republican-carried state at the presidential level. (Exceptions: 1896, 1912, 1932, 1936, and 1964.) “South Dakota is a strongly Republican state; only six Governors have not been members of that party …’ ( http://wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_South_Dakota ).
It is remarkable the 2018 midterm election for Governor of South Dakota—between Republican nominee Kristi Noem and Democratic nominee Billie Sutton—is a tossup.
I just looked up Billy Sutton, the Democratic nominee for South Dakota Governor, and see he is ONLY 34, and had been a professional bronc rider until an accident made him a paraplegic, and has in his short career been Minority Leader in the South Dakota Senate. He just might win over Noem, imagine that! 🙂
And Oklahoma and Kansas also have very close gubernatorial races, where Democrats could win in traditionally Republican states!