Primary Outlook: Women Candidates in Iowa

Kelly Dittmar

Gender Watch 2018From March to December 2018, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) partnered to offer Gender Watch 2018, which tracked, analyzed, and illuminated gender dynamics in the 2018 midterm elections. With the help of expert scholars and practitioners, Gender Watch 2018 furthered public understanding of how gender influences candidate strategy, voter engagement and expectations, media coverage, and electoral outcomes in campaigns. The blog below was written for Gender Watch 2018, as part of our collective effort to raise questions, suggest answers, and complicate popular discussions about gender’s role U.S. elections.

 

Ahead of the Iowa primary election on June 5, 2018, we outline the numbers and proportions of women who have filed as candidates for congressional and statewide office. The data below also provide points of historical comparison to give context to today’s presence and potential success of women candidates.

All data are provided from the Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University. For a full list of the women candidates in IA primary races for congressional and statewide offices, see CAWP’s Election Watch page.

CONGRESS

Current: 1 of 6 members of the Iowa congressional delegation (16.7%)
Filed: 5 (4D, 1R)
Percent of all Filed Congressional Candidates (D/R): 31.3% (5 of 16)

SENATE

Current: 1 of 2 senators (50%)

  • Current Senator Joni Ernst (R) became the first woman senator from Iowa – and the first woman in Congress from Iowa – in 2015. 

THERE IS NO U.S. SENATE RACE IN IOWA THIS YEAR.

HOUSE

Current: 0 of 4 representatives (0%)

  • No woman has ever served in the U.S. House from Iowa.

Filed: 5 (4D, 1R)

  • All women candidates for the U.S. House in Iowa are challengers, including 4 Democratic women running to challenge Republican incumbents in the general election and 1 Republican woman challenging an incumbent for the Republican nomination.
  • There are no open seat contests for the U.S. House in Iowa this year.

Districts with Women Candidates: 3 of 4
Percent of all Filed House Candidates (D/R):  31.2% (5 of 16)
Percent of all Filed Democratic House Candidates:  36.4% (4 of 11)
Percent of all Filed Republican House Candidates: 20% (1 of 5)

Recent history: The number of women who filed for major party candidacy for the U.S. House in Iowa in 2018 matches the highest number of women candidates between 2008 and 2018. In 2014, when there were 2 open U.S. Houses seat being contested, 5 (4D, 1R) women filed for major party candidacy. This year, there are no open House seats in Iowa.

GOVERNOR

Current: 1
Current Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) is the first woman governor of Iowa. She succeeded the previous governor in 2017 after he was appointed Ambassador to China. If elected this year, she would become the first woman elected governor of Iowa.

Filed: 3 (2D, 1R)

  • Republican incumbent governor Kim Reynolds is running unopposed to hold the office.
  • 2 Democratic women are competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge Reynolds in the general election.

Percent of all Filed Gubernatorial Candidates (D/R):  42.9% (3 of 7)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates:  33.3% (2 of 6)
Percent of all Filed Republican Gubernatorial Candidates: 100% (1 of 1)

Recent history: No women have competed for major party nominations for governor in Iowa in the past decade. Just two women – both Democrats – have ever been major party nominees for governor of Iowa.

OTHER STATEWIDE ELECTED EXECUTIVE OFFICES

Current: 1 of 6 positions (excludes governor) (16.7%)

Filed:  2 (1D, 1R)

  • Republican incumbent state auditor Mary Mosiman is running for to hold her office.
  • Democrat Diedre DeJear is running to challenge the Republican incumbent Secretary of State in the general election.
  • There are no women candidates for 3 statewide executive offices up for election this year.

Percent of all Filed Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates (D/R): 15.4 % (2 of 13)
Percent of all Filed Democratic Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates (D/R):  25% (1 of 4)
Percent of all Filed Republican Statewide Executive (other than governor) Candidates (D/R): 11.1% (1 of 9)

Recent history: The number of women who filed for major party candidacy for statewide elected executive offices (other than governor) in Iowa is not at a record high this year. In 2014, for example, 4 (2D, 2R) women were major party primary candidates for these offices.

Kelly Dittmar headshot

Kelly Dittmar

Kelly Dittmar is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers–Camden and Director of Research and Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She is the co-author of A Seat at the Table: Congresswomen’s Perspectives on Why Their Representation Matters (Oxford University Press, 2018) (with Kira Sanbonmatsu and Susan J. Carroll) and author of Navigating Gendered Terrain: Stereotypes and Strategy in Political Campaigns (Temple University Press, 2015).

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