New Record for Women State Legislative Nominees

Women made incremental progress in setting a new record for state legislative nominees in the 2020 election, in a rate of increase that proved significantly smaller than the gains made in 2018, according to data compiled by the Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. While Democrats are the majority of all women state legislative nominees (67.2%), much of the increase in women’s candidacies this year comes from Republican women expanding their numbers. For more data about women state legislative candidates this year and historically, see our fact sheet, Women in State Legislative Elections by State, Over Time. These nominee numbers do not include women candidates participating in one jungle primary for the Georgia State Senate on election day. These numbers may change as states update or revise information.

Overall Numbers

• 3,444 (2,314D, 1,106R, 18NP, 4I, 2P) women were nominated for state legislative seats in races around the country, surpassing the previous record of 3,418, set in 2018. This includes majorparty nominees, third-party incumbents running for re-election, and nominees for Nebraska’s non-partisan legislature.
• 644 (435D, 211R, 18NP) women were nominated for state senate seats, beating the previous record of 638, set in 2018.
• 2,780 (1,879D, 895R, 4I, 2P) women were nominated for state house seats, matching the record set in 2018.

Women in Major Parties

• Democratic women
  • 2,314 Democratic women were nominated for state legislative seats this year, falling short of their previous record of 2,402, set in 2018.
  • 435 Democratic women were nominated for state senate seats this year, falling short of their previous record of 455, set in 2018.
  • 1,879 Democratic women were nominated for state house seats this year, falling short of their previous record of 1,947, set in 2018.
• Republican women
  • 1,106 Republican women were nominated for state legislative seats this year, surpassing their previous record of 993, set in 2018.
  • 211 Republican women were nominated for state senate seats this year, beating their record of 181, set in 2016.
  • 895 Republican women were nominated for state house seats this year, surpassing their previous record of 824, set in 2018.

Percent Increases in Comparison

While women have, again, increased their numbers of state legislative nominees, the 2020 elections represent a smaller rate of increase in comparison to the records broken in the 2018 election.

• The record for women state legislative nominees increased in 2020 by 0.8%. In 2018, that record increased by 29% from the previous record from 2016 (2,649).
• The record for women state senate nominees increased in 2020 by 0.9% from the 2018 record. In 2018, that record increased by 27.3% from the previous record from 2012 (501).
• The record for women state house nominees has seen no change thus far from the previous record from 2018. In 2018, that record increased by 29.1% from its previous record from 2016 (2,154).

The partisan difference in 2020 trends helps to explain the smaller rate of increase in 2020 than in 2018. While Republican women increased state legislative nominations this year, Democratic women – who remain the majority of women state legislative nominees – increased their nominations at higher rates in 2018.

• The record for Republican women state legislative nominees increased in 2020 by 11.4% from the 2018 record. In 2018, Democratic women surpassed their previous record of state legislative nominees (1,728) by 39%.
• The record for Republican women state senate nominees increased in 2020 by 16.6% from the 2016 record. In 2018, Democratic women surpassed their previous record of state senate nominees (318) by 43.1%.
• The record for Republican women state house nominees increased in 2020 by 8.6% from the 2018 record. In 2018, Democratic women surpassed their previous record of state house nominees (1,426) by 36.5%.

Find more information about women in state legislative races at our Election Watch 2020 Candidate Summary.