August 02, 2022

CAWP Data on Race and Ethnicity

Last week, CAWP released data on candidates by race and ethnicity. Beginning this year, CAWP is disaggregating data for all women by race and ethnicity, rather than reporting an overall number for women of color. Here’s a rundown of new records this year:

• Asian American/Pacific Islander women have set new records as candidates for governor, but not for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House, in 2022.
• Black women have set new records as candidates for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and governor in 2022.
• Latina/Hispanic women have set new records as candidates for the U.S. House and governor, but not for U.S. Senate, in 2022.
• White women have set new records as candidates for governor, but not for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House, in 2022.

Head to the Data on 2022 Women Candidates by Race and Ethnicity page on the CAWP website to find the full data and comparisons to previous cycles. Learn more about changes to our reporting on race and ethnicity here.

Primary Season Continues!

Primary contests are being held today in Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. Follow CAWP on Twitter tonight to get real-time analysis on women candidates in these races, and check out our Election Analysis page tomorrow morning for full results for women candidates.

In recent primary news, Maryland held their primaries on July 19th. Here are some noteworthy results for women candidates:

• The sole woman candidate for governor – former Maryland Secretary of Commerce Kelly Schulz (R) – was unsuccessful, meaning that Maryland will continue to be one of 19 states that has never had a woman governor.
• It seems likely that Maryland’s congressional delegation will continue to be all-male following the 2022 midterms:
• All women candidates for the U.S. Senate were unsuccessful.
• Three (1D, 2R) women candidates have won nominations to challenge U.S. House incumbents in contests that strongly favor their opponents.
• Former State Delegate Aruna Miller won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor as the running mate of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore. If elected, Miller would be the first Asian American woman elected to statewide elective executive office in Maryland.

CAWP’s 50-year history as the leading institution for data and scholarship on women’s participation in American politics was chronicled in two recent magazine articles. First, Rutgers Magazine explored the impact of the Center over the past half-century. In an interview, political strategist and author Donna Brazile said, “CAWP taught us how to measure success and to dare to take our seats at the table…For 50 years, the Center has built a community of women public leaders, encouraging women to stop running from politics and start running for office.”

Ms. magazine, meanwhile, published a conversation between Bonnie Stabile, of George Mason University, and CAWP Director Debbie Walsh that touched on CAWP’s founding, evolution, and continuing mission of illuminating the breadth of women’s representation in American government through deep data resources, as well as our educational programming for women, students, and young children. “A big part of the narrative about women’s participation is the diversity among the women who are running and who are serving,” Walsh tells Stabile, “[I want to] make sure we’re not just talking about getting more women elected…but all the richness of the diversity that they bring. The diversity among the women who serve has grown, and so, change has happened.”

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