Jeanne Shaheen, who looks likely to win her Senate race in New Hampshire
When we talk about women in politics, it's important to look down the pipeline. Political leaders don't start their careers as presidential nominees -- they work their way up after being elected to Congress, as governor, or to the state legislature. So to figure out the immediate future for women in U.S. politics, we have to look down the ticket.
The polls say this could be a landslide election for Democrats. But will it be a landslide election for women? Here's the breakdown:
U.S. Senate - 7 women candidates (4 Democrats, 3 Republicans)
Susan Collins (R-ME), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) are all up in the polls. Vivian Davis Figures (D-AL) and Christine O'Donnell (R-DE) are pretty likely to lose. In one race, both the incumbent, Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), and the challenger, Kay Hagan (D-NC), are women. It's a tight race.
* The bottom line: Looks like we'll gain one woman Senator (probably Shaheen, with Landrieu and Collins keeping their seats), bringing the total to 17 women in the Senate.
U.S. House - 133 women candidates (96 Democrats, 37 Republicans)
There are too many races for me to crunch the numbers here. If anyone has a link to the math on how many women look likely to win House races, drop it in comments!
Governors - 4 women candidates (All Democrats)
Two of the candidates -- Christine Gregoire (D-WA) and Beverly Perdue (D-NC) are locked in races that are too close to call. And Gaye Symington (D-VT) and Jill Long Thompson (D-IN) are both decidedly down in the polls. The odds look pretty good that
* The bottom line: Eight women currently serve as governors. If Gregoire hangs on to her seat, and Perdue ekes out a win in North Carolina, that number could rise to 9.
Who knows what will happen in the House races and in the state legislature races (in which 2,328 are running), but women look poised to make some very modest gains this year. I also don't have a breakdown for how many of these candidates are women of color, but from the races I've highlighted here, it's not looking like very many. I suppose it's good that we aren't moving backward, but forgive me if I'm not totally thrilled by these numbers. It's pretty embarrassing that, in 2008, we haven't cracked the 25% barrier at any level of government.
The Center for American Women in Politics is keeping an election-night scorecard. I'll also to keep you posted on how women candidates are doing as results roll in.
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Just wanted to say that some state legislatures are above 25% women- Vermont has something like 40% women. But perhaps you meant overall? In which case, I think it's 23% nationwide...which is very depressing.
Yeah, I mention nationwide. Definitely depressing.
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Dammit, I lost my comment trying to sign in after I wrote it.
Long post short: Clinton + Palin = hopefully an inspiration to women from both sides of the political spectrum to step up and join their local governments, or to believe they can take a step up from local to national.
For the record, the Senate is 16% female (17% is Shaheen wins in NH), and the House is merely 15%. Which is utterly appalling when one considers that almost every other country in the world has a larger percentage.
Jill Long Thompson would be our first female governor. Our incumbent is sooo depressingly terrible, it's a shame she's down in the polls. But! I have faith Obama can motivate the Dems in Indiana so we'll see!
Make that 30% for the US House. Sorry.
As a Maine voter, I have to say I'd be glad to have Collins out of office. She's been okay the last 12 years (except the whole going along with Bush and the fundamental ideology the last 8 years), and she's pretty pro-choice for a Republican candidate...but the smear tactics she's been using in our state have been disgusting to say the least. Also, she promised during her first campaign that after her three terms, she wouldn't run again (oops). While I completely agree with the idea of having more women in government, I believe they should be the RIGHT women (not like Palin). That's why sometimes I feel it's better to vote for a candidate who stands for women's rights rather than a candidate who is a woman.
Gregoire won, thank God. Dino Rossi is a sexist pig