Congressional Elections and the Year of the Woman: Structural and Elite Influences on Female Candidacies

Objective. Several explanations suggest why women are not elected to Congress as often as men. In this paper, we examine the emergence, political experience, and financing of open seat congressional candidates to determine the role played by gender in the most competitive congressional elections. Me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science quarterly 1995-12, Vol.76 (4), p.749-762
Main Authors: Gaddie, Ronald Keith, Bullock, Charles S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Candidate
Candidates
Congress
Congressional elections
Consumer spending
Election results
Elections
Electoral campaigning
Females
Incumbents
Legislative Bodies
Males
Men
Of General Interest
Parliamentary elections
Political campaigns
Political candidates
Political elections
Political Elites
Political parties
Political Power
Political Representation
Politicians
Presidential elections
Prospects
Sex
Sex Differences
Social research
U.S.A
United States
USA
Voter behavior
Voting
Women
Women and politics
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Summary:Objective. Several explanations suggest why women are not elected to Congress as often as men. In this paper, we examine the emergence, political experience, and financing of open seat congressional candidates to determine the role played by gender in the most competitive congressional elections. Methods. Open seat congressional elections are examined at the district level from 1982 to 1992. Multivariate regression models are specified to test the impact of gender on open seat outcomes. Results. Our analysis finds no direct influence of candidate gender on congressional election outcomes in the 1982-90 decade or in 1992, "The Year Of the Woman." Conclusions. Women who won congressional seats did so in the same manner as men: they had elective experience and access to adequate financial resources. In 1992, female candidates ran in greater numbers with ample resources. This trend did not continue into 1994, when female advancement stalled due to a paucity of female candidates and the preponderance of women running as Democrats.
ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237