Structural and Elite Features in Open Seat and Special U. S. House Elections: Is There a Sexual Bias?

Conventional wisdom long held that there was a bias against women in elections. Subsequent research indicates that men and women who challenge for elective office confront a common barrier: incumbency. In this article we extend our previous research on women in open seat elections by examining the p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Political research quarterly 1997-06, Vol.50 (2), p.459-468
Main Authors: Gaddie, Ronald Keith, Bullock, Charles S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Congressional elections
Gender bias
Incumbents
Men
Political campaigns
Political candidates
Political elections
Political parties
Presidential elections
Research Note
Womens studies
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Summary:Conventional wisdom long held that there was a bias against women in elections. Subsequent research indicates that men and women who challenge for elective office confront a common barrier: incumbency. In this article we extend our previous research on women in open seat elections by examining the performance of women who compete in special elections. Female candidate emergence in special House contests is slightly higher than in regular open seats. Using multivariate regression models, our analysis uncovered no bias against women in special elections. Overall, the performance of women in special elections and open seats indicates that disruptions of the political status quo by the sudden vacancy creates opportunities that women exploit with effectiveness, although the low level of female candidate emergence limits the growth of descriptive female representation.
ISSN:1065-9129
DOI:10.2307/448966