Number of women running in midterms more than doubles from 2016 to 2018: report

Greg Nash

More than twice as many women are running for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections as were running just two years ago.

At least 431 female candidates are running or are likely to run for the House, compared to 212 in February 2016, according to NPR. In Senate races, 50 women are running or are likely to run, compared to 25 in 2016.

The wave of female candidates has mostly affected the Democratic party, according to recent data. Out of the 431 women running for the House, 92 are Republicans.

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The party-line numbers are slightly more even in Senate races, with 21 Republican and 29 Democratic women running.

EMILY’s List, an organization dedicated to supporting the candidacies of Democratic women, told NPR that more than 30,000 women have expressed interest in running for office, an overwhelming jump from the 920 who had reached out by this point in the 2016 election cycle.

Many female candidates have said they’ve felt galvanized by the election of President Trump, by the “Me Too” movement and by a resurgence of women’s rights activism.

Time Magazine earlier this year featured the portraits of several first-time female candidates, labeling them “The Avengers” in a cover story about the grass-roots movement of female Democratic candidates.

Tags #MeToo 2022 midterm elections Donald Trump Women running for office

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