Record Number of Women Running for U.S. Senate in 2018 After Filing Deadlines in 38 States

With filing deadlines passed in 38 states, a record number of women have filed as major party candidates for the U.S. Senate in 2018. As of June 1^st, 42 women – 24 Democrats and 18 Republicans – have filed for candidacy, surpassing the previous high of 40 set in 2016.

Republican women have already surpassed their record high for filed U.S. Senate candidates; 17 women filed as Republican Senate candidates in 2010. In 2016, 28 Democratic women filed as U.S. Senate candidates, which currently remains the record high.

“Women have not only broken a record for U.S. Senate candidacies this year,” according to CAWP’s director, Debbie Walsh. “They are also contenders in some of the most competitive races of this cycle.”

Of the 42 women who have filed for the U.S. Senate:

• 8 (6D, 2R) are incumbents who have filed for re-election,
• 7 (3D, 4R) are running for open seats in 3 states (Arizona, Tennessee, and Utah),
• 12 (4D, 8R) are seeking major party nominations to challenge incumbent senators,
• 15 (11D, 4R) have filed as primary challengers to incumbents of their own party.

These numbers include all the women who have filed to date, including those who have lost their primary. Of the 42 women candidates filed for the U.S. Senate, 6 (2D, 4R) have already been defeated in primary elections and 3 (2D, 1R) have secured major party nominations.

For a full summary and listing of women candidates in 2018, see CAWP’s Election Watch.

The record number of women who have run as major party nominees for U.S Senate is 18, set in 2012.

23 (17D, 6R) women currently serve in the U.S. Senate. A total of 52 (34D, 17R) women have ever served in the U.S. Senate. For data on women’s representation in the U.S. Senate over time, see CAWP’s History of Women in Congress.