The Electing Women Alliance celebrated Women’s History month inspired by the trailblazing women who have gone before us, and by supporting the courageous women running for office in 2024—even as we suffered a few political setbacks.
We started the month with a loss in Chicago for Black women leading America’s major cities. The good news? We won’t be short of opportunities to support Black female mayoral candidates this year, and a candidate in the California Senate primary and the Vice President in 2024.
We also lost a trailblazing former member of the House of Representatives: Rep. Pat Schroeder, who died on March 13 at the age of 82. When she entered the House in 1973, she was one of only 16 women. Now there are 125 women in the House—but a disproportionate number are at risk of losing their seats in 2024, according to new DCCC and NRCC target lists released this month.
However, our most at-risk US Senate candidates have avoided major Republican challengers so far (fingers crossed—and with strong fundraising—it stays that way).
US Senate
Since announcing her US Senate run in the last week of February, Rep. Elissa Slotkin appears to have cleared the field, with no major challengers surfacing to date. Michigan State Board of Education President Pamela Pugh is being encouraged to run so this will continue to be a key race to watch.
Credible challengers on the Republican side are also not champing at the bit to enter competitive 2024 races. Prominent Wisconsinites, including former-Gov. Scott Walker and current Rep. Mike Gallagher, have said they won’t challenge Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and the only potential candidates who have expressed interest in running against Sen. Jacky Rosen in Nevada are extremists who lost in 2022.
When GOP candidates for these seats do emerge, they might be women (the party is working on serious recruitment efforts) and they are very likely to be self-funders. With fundraising efforts faltering, Republicans are looking for wealthy candidates who can pay their own way.
Analysis
Senate Race Ratings [Cook Political Report]
What Are The Most Vulnerable Senate Seats In 2024? [FiveThirtyEight]
Top Races
California Senate race: LA Mayor Karen Bass endorses Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee
How Democrats disarmed a brewing Senate battle in Michigan
Democrat Pamela Pugh considering MI Senate run
Scott Walker won’t challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2024
Sheriff David Clarke Dusts Off Cowboy Hat and Eyes Run for WI Senate
7 Republicans who may run against Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen
How Medicare Advantage could become a marquee issue in Nevada’s 2024 Senate race
Other News
Republicans could flip a number of Senate seats in 2024. Will women candidates benefit?
National Republicans are looking for Senate candidates who are filthy rich
Eyes on 2024: GOP candidates waiting in the wings
Yes, Kyrsten Sinema can win as an independent in Arizona
Elizabeth Warren kicks off her Senate reelection bid
US House
Back to what’s happening in Michigan: After Rep. Slotkin made her Senate announcement, Cook moved MI-7 into Toss Up territory. Republican State Sen. Tom Barrett, who lost against her by 6 points last year, has already declared he is running again.
Cook has also released a rating (Lean D) for Alaska’s at-large seat, held by Rep. Mary Peltola. Both that seat and MI-7 are on the National Republican Campaign Committee’s newly released list of 37 top seats to flip in 2024—a list that is disproportionately women.
In fact, out of the 38 incumbent Democratic seats targeted by both the DCCC and NRCC, half—19—are currently held by women, even though the House as a whole is a little over 28 percent women.
Analysis
House Rating Change: Slotkin Senate Run Moves MI-07 to Toss Up [Cook Political Report]
2024 House Race Analysis: Alaska [Cook Political Report]
The House Is About To Have 435 Members. That’s Pretty Rare. [FiveThirtyEight]
Where House candidates outperformed their district’s partisanship. [FiveThirtyEight]
Republicans Retain Edge in Electoral College Tie [Sabato’s Crystal Ball]
Top Races
DCCC Announces Members of 2024 Frontline Program
NRCC Announces 37 Offensive Pick-Up Opportunities to Grow GOP House Majority
Sabina Matos announces run for 1st Congressional District seat. What to know.
What’s ahead for Minnesota’s sole remaining battleground House seat
Lansing mayor won’t run for mid-Michigan seat in Congress
Other News
This month, let’s celebrate women like Marcy Kaptur
Majority of states haven’t elected a Black woman to Congress
EMILY’s List: These 18 Democrats are crucial to taking House control
State & Local
On Feb. 28, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot became the first sitting mayor in Chicago since 1989 to lose re-election. Worries over crime and local economic dislocation have set many of America’s mayors scrambling, though we can’t help but notice Mayor Lightfoot—a Black, lesbian woman—has faced an inordinate amount of criticism of her “temperament.”
A widespread movement against Democratic mayors means big trouble for Black women, who currently lead some of the country’s largest cities. In addition to Chicago, there’s Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Charlotte, St. Louis and New Orleans, where incumbent Mayor LaToya Cantrell just successfully faced down a recall effort. Luckily there are chances this year, most notably in Denver and Philadelphia, to add to the number of Black women mayors.
Finally, we’re mere days away from seeing the resolution in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court special election—where left-leaning candidate Janet Protasiewicz is hoping to flip control of the Court—and state Senate election, where Republicans are on the cusp of a supermajority. Last week the Supreme Court candidates met for their only debate, which is linked below.
Analysis
[LISTEN] Why Lori Lightfoot Lost The Chicago Mayor’s Race [FiveThirtyEight]
How Did State Supreme Court Races Get So Expensive? [FiveThirtyEight]
A First Look at 2024 State Supreme Court Contests [Sabato’s Crystal Ball]
Top Races
[WATCH] Wisconsin Supreme Court debate
Janet Protasiewicz, Daniel Kelly on Wisconsin redistricting
Business group adds $3 million to Wisconsin Supreme Court race
In heated Wisconsin Supreme Court debate, candidates tangle over ‘fake elector’ scheme
Lori Lightfoot becomes the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose re-election
The latest TV ads in the Philly mayor’s race include two ex-mayors and the first attack ad
Racial missteps come under fire in diverse Denver mayor’s race.
Other News
Secretary of State Doug La Follette to retire, Gov. Tony Evers appoints Sarah Godlewski to post
Florida Dems elect Nikki Fried to lead the party after ‘horrific November’
Michigan House and Senate pass bill repealing 1931 abortion ban
A proposed six-week abortion ban in Florida could threaten access for the entire South
Group opposing Ohio abortion amendment launches $5 million ad buy
The number of Black state-level House speakers just hit a record. Here’s why that matters.
Women have more power than ever in Pennsylvania’s legislature
‘Mickey Mouse’ And ‘Shrek’ Signed Failed New Orleans Mayor Recall Petition
National
This month we saw the first explicit groundwork laid for the presidential re-election campaign, in a spate of articles focusing on Vice President Kamala Harris—her media appearances on The Late Show and with Megan Thee Stallion, her abortion rights-focused trip to Iowa, and her international diplomacy. It is looking like she is getting ready to officially hit the campaign trail again. Our sources are telling us an announcement could come as soon as April with a formal launch slated for later in the spring.
Analysis
The Impact of Abortion on 2022 and Beyond [Cook Political Report]
What happens if more states ban abortion [FiveThirtyEight]
Top Stories
The Excellence of Kamala Harris Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Democratic leaders want the party to stop its Kamala Harris pile-on ahead of 2024
Patricia Schroeder, Feminist Force in Congress, Dies at 82
Other News
DNC Statement on Women’s History Month
More Black Women Run for Office, but Prospects Fade the Higher They Go
The Effect of Gender on Interruptions at Congressional Hearings
Doug Emhoff talks support for gender equity at SXSW
Jill Biden hosts International Women of Courage Awards at the White House
White House briefing makes history led by 3 Black women
Women
Analysis
Democratic Dads Think It’s Gotten Easier To Raise Kids. Democratic Moms Disagree. [FiveThirtyEight]
The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap [Pew Research]
Top Stories
Access to abortion pill in the balance as Texas judge hears mifepristone case
Gender equality will take 300 years to achieve, UN chief warns
Black Women and the March on Washington
Nearly 300,000 women served in Iraq. Two decades later, they remain ‘the invisible veterans.’
Other News
Women’s Labor Participation Returns to Pre-Covid Levels in US
A surprising (and growing) gender gap in the most dangerous jobs
Twenty-five trailblazing women leading the fight against climate change
Reports of sex assaults at U.S. military academies increase, Pentagon says
Why the Equal Rights Amendment is still a work in progress, 100 years later