Election Analysis

Dr. Mirya Holman is associate professor of political science at Tulane University. Among her many publications on gender and American politics, she is the author of Women in Politics in the American City (Temple University Press, 2014), which examines the effect of female mayors and city council members on urban politics. We asked Dr. Holman to share...

Many people are compelled to become political officeholders due to some higher calling. Whether it be a civic duty, love of country, or some pull to power. Black women are no different. However, their civic duty and love of country may look quite different than their white male and female counterparts. When Black women speak of doing the work of their...

In the weeks and months leading up the 2020 presidential election, many political pundits and observers speculated that the gender gap wouldn’t be a gap so much as a gender canyon. The “gender gap” typically refers to differences between women and men in vote choice but can also refer to gender differences in turnout, political attitudes, and engagement...

Within the next two years, 38 states will hold gubernatorial elections, including two states - Virginia and New Jersey – who will hold gubernatorial elections in November 2021. These elections provide multiple opportunities for women. Nine women currently serve as governor and just 44 women have ever served in gubernatorial office in U.S. history. Candidates...

Despite a historic year for women in politics that featured the election of the first woman vice president and a new record for women in Congress, 2020 did not see any new women elected governor. Just nine women serve as governors across the fifty states. And in 2018, which also saw records for women winning seats in Congress and state legislatures, there...

*Post has been updated on February 17, 2021 to incorporate results and legislative changes that occurred through the final date of state legislatures being sworn in (January 19, 2021). As the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) has reported, a record number of women will serve in state legislatures in 2021. As a result of the 2020 elections, 2,277...