Women in State Legislatures 2015: Numbers Still Stuck

As state legislatures convene in 2015, the number of women lawmakers has dropped slightly: a total of 1,785 women will serve in the new year  (24.2 percent of all legislators), compared with 1,791 at the end of 2014, according to the Center for American Women and Politics, a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Consistent with patterns for other levels of office in a Republican-trending year, Democratic women lost ground, while Republican women made slight gains. However, since this year’s candidates included many more Democratic than Republican women, the result was a net loss of women.

“Women remain perched on the same plateau where they’ve been stuck for several years,” observed CAWP director Debbie Walsh. “To climb higher, many more women candidates, and particularly more Republican women, need to run.”

A total of 2,527 women  (1,623D, 893R, 7NP, 4I) were general election candidates for state legislatures across the country in 2014: 452 (293D, 151R, 7NP, 1I) for state senate seats and 2,075 (1,330D, 742R, 3I) for state houses/assemblies.

Combining the women who won state legislative elections in 2014 with holdovers who will continue to serve, there will be 1,785 women serving (1,073D, 698R, 10NP, 4I), including 435 senators  (261D, 163R, 10NP, 1I) and 1,350 house or assembly members (812D, 535R, 3I) . Among all women legislators, Democrats remain a much larger proportion than Republicans (60% versus 39%) but the gap between women of the two parties will shrink from the 2014 figures (64% Democrats versus 36% Republicans).

Colorado will continue to lead all states with 42% women legislators, with Vermont next at 41%. Louisiana and Oklahoma will remain at the bottom of the heap, each with under 13% women.  

Women Legislators 2015

Figures are accurate as of the date of this release, but changes are likely due to appointments, resignations and other unpredictable events.