More women are running for statewide offices than ever before
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There are roughly 65 women running for governor across the country this cycle, with more Republicans than Democrats making the bid, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP).
Why it matters: More women than ever before are running for statewide offices, including governor, secretary of state and U.S. Senate. The 2018 midterm cycle was defined, in part, by a record number of women running for the House.
Between the lines: The current numbers reflect the incumbents seeking re-election this cycle too.
They include Democratic Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Janet Mills of Maine, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in South Dakota and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
- The data also captures some of the more high-profile female statewide candidates this cycle.
- They include Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who's running for Arkansas governor, and Stacey Abrams, candidate for governor in Georgia.
- While women from both parties are running in equal or near-equal numbers for the statewide offices, there's still a stark partisan divide in the representation in Congress.
By the numbers: Of the 145 women currently in the House and Senate, only 39 are Republicans, the CAWP data shows.
- And while women are poised to make gains in statewide contests, they remain underrepresented in many key state legislatures around the country.
- Ohio, for example, is behind the rest of the country when it comes to female representation in local office, Axios Columbus' Taylor Buchanan has reported.
- Ditto in Texas, where women make up just 27% of the state legislature, Axios Dallas has written.
Go deeper: "Democrats have more women in state legislatures than Republicans."
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