January 7, 2025

In the New Year, women around the country are getting sworn in as new officeholders in Washington, D.C. and around the country. 

Will you be one of the next leaders shaping our democracy?

Start your political journey with Ready to Run® New Jersey. CAWP’s flagship campaign training program for women hosts its 2025 session on March 21-22 in New Brunswick, NJ. Whether you’re gearing up a campaign in New Jersey’s 2025 elections or just hoping to deepen your political activism in uncertain times, Ready to Run® has resources, workshops, and connections to help further your goals.



You’re ready for this moment. Get Ready to Run®.

Not in New Jersey? CAWP's Ready to Run® National Network partners are hosting upcoming campaign training programs in Iowa (February 21st, March 28th, and April 25th), Pennsylvania (January 24-25), and Utah (March 15th).

Last week, the 119th Congress was sworn into session, and, for the first time since 2011, the number of women serving in Congress declined as a result of November congressional elections.

• 150 women serve in the 119th Congress. [Link to chart]
• 110 Democrats
• 40 Republicans
• 125 women serve in the U.S. House.
• 94 Democrats (43.7% of House Democrats)
• 31 Republicans (14.1% of House Republicans)
• There are 18 new women members of the House.
• 25 women serve in the U.S. Senate.
• 16 Democrats (35.6% of Senate Democrats)
• 9 Republicans (17% of Senate Republicans)
• There are 3 new women senators.

Find out more from our Women in the U.S. Congress 2025 fact sheet.

CAWP’s Women of Power Networking Reception returns in 2025 on February 10th from 5:30 to 7:30pm ET! Co-hosted by women in the New Jersey Legislature, this one-of-a-kind event is your chance to mix and mingle with powerful leaders in the public and private sectors in a nonpartisan setting. Women of Power, held at Marsilio’s Kitchen in West Trenton, is also an opportunity to support CAWP’s public leadership programs in New Jersey. Tickets for this event help sustain our Ready to Run® campaign trainings and our NEW Leadership® program for college students. Join a community of New Jerseyans devoted to women’s political equality while supporting programs that will make that dream a reality at Women of Power.

CAWP is thrilled to welcome Emily Dalton as our new program coordinator! Emily comes to CAWP from the Hoboken Public Library, where she served as its first full-time social worker, developing services in the library to meet the needs of the community. She completed both her undergraduate degree and her master’s degree at Rutgers University, and she was a 2023 Eagleton Graduate Fellow. As a program and events coordinator, she manages the NEW Leadership® and Teach a Girl to Lead® programs and provides support for other programs at the Center.

In her free time, Emily is an active member of the Hoboken Community Emergency Response Team and assists with outreach events on behalf of the organization. She also enjoys sewing and other crafting hobbies. Her 2025 goal is to complete her first quilt!

CAWP Senior Scholar Kira Sanbonmatsu published a new article, "Understanding Black Women’s and Latinas’ Perspectives about Political Giving" in PS: Political Science & Politics. The article sheds light on the gender gap in campaign contributions. CAWP’s Women, Money, & Politics Watch 2024 found that Black women and Latinas were dramatically underrepresented as contributors to congressional candidates.

Sanbonmatsu's study, based on original public opinion surveys, reveals that “a shared norm of political giving appears to be missing for Black women and Latinas, in contrast to other forms of civic and political engagement. This indicates that women, and especially Latinas, are unlikely to face a social penalty for failing to contribute to candidates." The article notes that "the lack of a norm around political giving can become a self-fulfilling prophecy," perpetuating women's underrepresentation as donors.

Sanbonmatsu observes that "the voices of Black women and Latinas, as measured by campaign contributions, are only weakly heard within American politics. With fewer avenues to help their preferred candidates run and win, women of color may experience unequal political representation as a result of their unequal giving."

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