Women in the 2022 General Election

The regular primary season has come to an end, and the Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics, has published a detailed analysis of women as general election nominees across levels of office, data on women candidates by race and ethnicity, potential milestones in election 2022, and a look ahead at women’s representation in 2023.

In addition, CAWP will host a virtual media briefing next Tuesday, October 4th at 2pm ET to review our general-election data and answer questions on women’s role in the 2022 midterms. Participants will include CAWP Director Debbie Walsh, CAWP Scholar and Director of Research Kelly Dittmar, and CAWP Data Services Manager Chelsea Hill.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

CAWP’s general election analysis, The 2022 Primaries Are Over. Here’s What You Need to Know About Women Nominees, examines women as major-party nominees for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, governor, and state legislatures. It also contains detailed information about women candidates by race and ethnicity, party, and puts the 2022 midterms into broader context with comparisons to previous election years and an analysis of women nominees as a percentage of all major-party nominees.

With the caveat that Louisiana’s jungle primary, which could produce additional nominees, will occur on election day, here are some key numbers for women in election 2022:

• 20 (13D, 7R) women are nominees for the U.S. Senate. This is not a record overall or for either party.
• 259 (178D, 81R) women are nominees for the U.S. House. This is not a record overall or for either party.
• 25 (16D, 9R) women are nominees for governor. This is a new record overall, as well as new records for Democratic women and Republican women.
• 3,552 (2,272D, 1,262, 17NP, 1I) women are nominees for state legislature. This is a new record overall, as well as a new record for Republican women. There are still a number of state legislative races featuring women candidates that remain too close to call.
• Across the country, women are poised to make new milestones, including in Vermont, the sole state that has never sent a woman to Congress, which may finally break that barrier this year. Learn about potential milestone candidates here.
• Latina/Hispanic women have achieved record highs as nominees for the U.S. House (37 [20D, 17R]) in 2022.
• Black women have achieved record highs as nominees for the U.S. Senate (4 [4D]) and governor (3 [3D]) in 2022.
• There are a record number of woman v. woman gubernatorial general election contests in 2022 (5), but the plurality of general election contests for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and governor are all-male.
• Women remain underrepresented among all nominees for elective office in 2022, though they come closer to parity with men among Democratic nominees.
• While the number of Republican women candidates increased across levels of office from 2020 to 2022, they still represent the minority of women major-party nominees for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, governor, and state legislative offices.
• The number of women U.S. House incumbents not returning in 2023 (18 [13D, 5R]) is notably high ahead of the general election. 

For additional context, see the detailed post-primary analysis, The 2022 Primaries Are Over. Here’s What You Need to Know About Women Nominees, as well as the following CAWP fact sheets:

• 2022 Summary of Women Candidates
• Woman vs. Woman: Congressional and Gubernatorial Races
• Women as Percentage of 2022 Major-Party Candidates and Nominees
• Data on 2022 Women Candidates by Race and Ethnicity
• Election 2022: Potential Milestones and Firsts
• Women in State Legislative Elections by State, Over Time

Register to attend the CAWP briefing on women in the 2022 election here.