Women aren’t just running for Congress in record numbers—they’re also running for governor in record numbers:
This year, at least 79 women — 49 Democrats and 30 Republicans — are running for governor or seriously considering it as filing deadlines approach, according to a tally by the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University.
The numbers are more than double what they were four years ago and on track to surpass the record 34 women who ran for governor in 1994. In Ohio, there are three women running for governor in the Democratic primary and one in the Republican. In Georgia, both Democratic candidates are named Stacey.
If women don’t run, they can’t win, but—as we’ve seen at the federal level—women running for executive face added sexism:
Their candidacies are testing long-held attitudes about women and leadership. Voters tended to see women as “well suited for legislatures, where it’s collaborative,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the center. “It runs up against the stereotype to see women as the chief decider, the place where the buck stops.”
There are just six women now serving as governors in the United States. Let’s change that in 2018.
Can you chip in $3 to help elect Stacey Abrams governor of Georgia?