Women Running

How many women are running for U.S. Congress in 2018?

NYTimes The Upshot

1. How accurate was your prediction?
   What story does the infographic tell about change in the number of women running for Congress over time?

2. What do you think is the main reason for that change?

3. What is one consequence of that change?

4. The 2018 midterms have broken the record for the number of female candidates who filed as well as for the number and share of women who won primaries in House and Senate contests. Why do you think that is?

5. There is a saying that, “When women run, women win.” If that’s true, and it appears to be, why don’t both parties run more women?

6. How many women are running for office in races in your district and state?

7. The red in the infographic above represents Republicans, the blue, Democrats. What story does the infographic tell about female candidacy by party?

8. Why do you think that is?
   During the recent Kavanaugh hearings Senator Kamala Harris asked Brett Kavanaugh if he could name any legislation Congress had ever made about men’s bodies. He couldn’t, and I can’t. Imagine that Congress eventually became majority female.

9. When two women run against each other, a woman always wins. How many women are running against each other in this year’s Senate races?

10. 1/3 of the candidates for the US Senate (legislative) are female, 1/5 of the candidates for state Governor (executive) are female. What do you think accounts for that difference?

11. Why do you think Americans are more comfortable with women in legislative roles than they are with women in executive positions?

12. If a woman won in every race where one is running, 207 would make it to the House. But that’s unlikely. If that did happen, and almost half of the House was female would that be good or bad?

Learning Extension

Read the New York Times article about Women running for office in 2018. And if you haven’t already, Check out Politico's interactive women candidate tracker and make predictions about how many women will win in the 2018 midterm elections. Share your prediction in class or online.

Action Extension

Although we have primary elections, a big part of who gets to run for office is still determined by the political parties and how much support, money, and energy they put behind candidates. Contact your favorite political party: GOP or Dems, and let them know what you think about the number of female candidates they are fielding in 2018.