Women were responsible for 10 of 13 Democratic pick-ups in Virginia’s 2025 legislative elections, expanding the Democratic majority by 13 seats. This power-building role for Democratic women candidates is not new. In the 2017 election, women flipped 11 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates from Republican to Democrat. They were responsible for 11 of 15...
CAWP’s research has found that men’s total political giving exceeds women’s and that women from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups are particularly unequal. Donating to candidates is an important form of political participation: resources help candidates reach the ballot and mount successful campaigns. I shed additional light on these...
Two (2D) congresswomen are major-party nominees for governor in 2025 in New Jersey and Virginia. U.S. Representative Mikie Sherrill (D) is the Democratic nominee for governor of New Jersey. She was first elected to the U.S. House in 2018 and is currently serving her fourth term representing New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. Former U.S. Representative...
At least four women lieutenant governors are running for governor in 2025 or 2026. In 2025, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears is the Republican nominee for governor. Already, three current lieutenant governors - Nancy Dahlstrom (R-AK), Pamela Evette (R-SC), and Sara Rodriguez (D-WI) - have announced their bids for governor in the 2026 cycle...
Only 32 U.S. states have had a woman governor. Virginia will mark the 33rd when either Democrat Abigail Spanberger or Republican Winsome Earle-Sears wins the gubernatorial election in November. To date, 51 (31D, 20R) women have served as state governors. In addition, women have served as governors of Guam and Puerto Rico.The first woman governor in 17 states...
Two women veterans are on gubernatorial ballots in 2025. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) served in the U.S. Navy, and Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA) served in the U.S. Marines. They are two of four women veterans who have been major-party nominees for governor since 2010. In 2022, Theresa Livingston (D), an Air Force veteran, was unsuccessful in her bid for governor of...
August 26, 2025 marks the 105th anniversary of the certification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying or abridging citizens' right to vote on account of sex. While turnout among women voters lagged men's turnout immediately after suffrage due to formal and informal contributors to disenfranchisement, the gender gap in...
