Potential for History to be Made in Vermont

Primary elections were held yesterday in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and Tennessee's primary contests were held last Thursday; the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, is tracking results for women candidates in these races. Full results are available on the Election Analysis page on the CAWP website. There are still a number of races featuring women candidates that remain too close to call, so this page will update as results are determined. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, is available via CAWP's Election Watch.

Among the most notable results for women:

• While 14 (9D, 5R) non-incumbent women have already won major-party nominations for the U.S. House in CT, MN, TN, VT, and WI, just 1 (1D) non-incumbent woman is a nominee favored to win in November.
  • State Senate President Pro Tem Becca Balint (D) won the Democratic nomination for Vermont’s at-large U.S. House seat. She will compete in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democratic” by Cook Political Report and is strongly favored to become the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress from Vermont. Vermont is the only state that has never sent a woman to Congress.
• All 8 (6D, 2R) incumbent women members of the U.S. House won primary nominations. All but 1 (1D) incumbent woman – U.S. Representative Angie Craig (D, MN-02) – are strongly favored to win re-election in November. Craig (D) will compete in a general election contest currently rated as a toss-up by Cook Political Report.
• Women are both major-party nominees in four U.S. House contests decided on August 9th.
  • Lesley DeNardis (R) will challenge incumbent U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D) in CT-03, an all-woman contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
  • May Lor Xiong (R) will challenge incumbent U.S. Representative Betty McCollum (D) in MN-04, an all-woman general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
  • Cicely Davis (R) will challenge incumbent U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D) in MN-05, an all-woman general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
  • Jill Abahsain (D) will challenge incumbent U.S. Representative Michelle Fischbach (R) in MN-07, an all-woman general election contest currently rated as “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report.
• In Connecticut, Leora Levy (R) won the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report. If successful, Levy would be the first Latina elected to the U.S. Congress from Connecticut.
• Multiple non-incumbent women could make gains in statewide elective executive offices other than governor.
  • In Connecticut, State Representative Stephanie Thomas (D) won the Democratic nomination in the open-seat contest for secretary of state. In American history, just 3 (2D, 1R) Black women have ever served as secretaries of state nationwide.
  • In Vermont, Charity Clark (D) won the Democratic nomination in the open-seat contest for attorney general. If successful in November, she would be the first woman elected attorney general in Vermont. Current incumbent Attorney General Susanne Young (R), the first woman to hold the office, was appointed by Governor Scott (R) in July 2022 to fill a vacancy. She did not run for a full term.
  • In Wisconsin, State Representative Sara Rodriguez (D) won the Democratic nomination in the open-seat contest for lieutenant governor. She will run on a single ticket with Governor Tony Evers (D) in the general election for governor and lieutenant governor. This contest is currently rated as a toss-up by Cook Political Report.

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.