Incumbent Women Move Forward in New Hampshire, Rhode Island Will Continue to Have No Women in Congress

CAWP Staff

Congressional primaries were held on Tuesday in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Full context about women in the 2020 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, results from previous primaries, and historical comparisons, are available via the Center for American Women and Politics’ Election Watch page.

Among the most notable results for women:

  • Both (2D) incumbent women officeholders in New Hampshire – Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D) and Representative Ann McLane Kuster (D) secured their nominations for re-election. Both are favored to win re-election in November.
  • No other women won major-party congressional or gubernatorial nominations in New Hampshire or Rhode Island.
  • In Rhode Island, there were no women primary candidates for the U.S. House – where Rhode Island has two members – or the U.S. Senate. Rhode Island is the only state that had no women candidates file to run for the U.S. Congress in 2020. No women currently serve in the U.S. Congress from Rhode Island. Just one woman – Claudine Schneider (R) – has ever represented Rhode Island in Congress. She served in the U.S. House from 1981 to 1991.

New Hampshire

U.S. Senate

Incumbent Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D) secured the Democratic nomination for re-election this year. Her re-election contest is currently rated as “Solid Democratic” by Cook Political Report.

New Hampshire is one of six states that currently has an all-woman U.S. Senate delegation. Senator Maggie Hassan (D) is not up for re-election this year.

U.S. House

Currently, 1 (1D) of 2 members of the New Hampshire delegation to the U.S. House is a woman (50%).

Incumbent Representative Ann McLane Kuster (D) secured the Democratic nomination for re-election in New Hampshire’s 2nd congressional district. She will be the only woman major-party nominee in general election for the U.S. House in New Hampshire. Lynne Blankenbeker (R) was defeated in the Republican primary election to challenge Kuster this fall.

Kuster’s re-election contest is currently rated as “Solid Democratic” by Cook Political Report.

Governor

Karen Testerman (R) was the only woman candidate for Governor of New Hampshire in 2020. She was defeated by incumbent Governor Chris Sununu (R) in the Republican primary.

Rhode Island

No women currently serve in the U.S. Congress from Rhode Island. Just one woman, Claudine Schneider (R), has ever represented Rhode Island in Congress. She served in the U.S. House from 1981 to 1991.

No women ran for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House in Rhode Island’s congressional primaries. No women are among the 2 (1D, 1R) U.S. Senate nominees or 3 (2D, 1R) U.S. House nominees selected.

Rhode Island is the only state that had no women candidates file to run for the U.S. Congress in 2020.  

CAWP Staff