Just a quick look at where we are in the election process, at least as regards to the House of Representatives.
Filing is the first step in the process and it is mostly completed. Overall, filing deadlines have passed for 375 seats out of 435 total, or 86.2%. Filing is further along for Republican held seats with the deadline having passed in 182 out of 199 GOP-held seats (91.5%). Filing deadlines have passed on only 193 out of 236 Democratic seats (81.8%). Nearly half of the remaining seats are in one state: New York.
The next step is the primary. Slightly over half of the House seats have passed the primary deadline. In these cases, we know who will be running in November. Overall, primaries have passed in states with 249 if the 435 House seats (57.2%). This includes 131 of 236 House Democratic seats (55.5%) and 118 of 199 GOP-held seats (59.3%). Eleven states hold September primaries and the last scheduled run-off is slated for early October.
One of the very large differences between the two parties is the number of women nominated by Democrats. As of this morning the number of Democratic women still running for Congress includes IIRC 54 women in Congress plus 32 Democratic women already nominated and 25 others who are still running (women who are the only candidates where the filing deadline has passed, like Annette Taddeo in Florida, are counted as the nominee). Currently, despite many multi-candidate fields only three congressional districts have more than one woman running for the Democratic nomination: AZ-1 (Ann Kirkpatrick and Mary Kim Titla), NV-3 (Dina Titus and Anna Nevic), and MI-13 where Martha Scott and Mary Waters are taking on Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick who is considered weakened because of the problems of her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Thanks for this work. With a black man at the top of our ticket, the question of progress for women on the lower rungs may understandably get more attention.
I’m glad to see so many Democratic women running for Congress. But many of our women are running against their women. If Anette Taddeo replaces Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in FL-18, or Kay Hagen knocks out Libby Dole in N.C., we will have more Democrats in Washington but no more women. And while I’m happy to be rid of Heather Wilson in NM-01, I’m sorry to see New Mexico without a woman in its delegation.
Perhaps your next report can track the opportunity for a net gain in the effort to gain equal representation for women in Congress.