Candidate Gender and Voter Support in State Legislative Elections

Abstract

To what extent does candidate gender influence voter support in state legislative elections? This question is addressed in a candidate-level analysis of campaigns involving men and women in 20 states in the 1990s. The findings demonstrate some statistically significant differences by gender-women actually receive a higher percentage of the vote, although these effects are insufficiently large to influence their likelihood of winning. Additional analyses consider characteristics of districts and states that increase or dampen support for women. For example, women receive a greater vote percentage in districts where education levels are higher and where there is a larger proportion of African Americans. Overall, the major conclusion to emerge is that women have a slight edge over men in gaining voter support, but factors such as candidacy status, partisanship of the district, and campaign spending have a much stronger influence on election outcomes.

What do we know about campaign finance and gender so far? The scoping review as an analysis tool with a feminist approach

“…Still, on teaching centers, we highlight Louisiana State University, which had three publications on this topic, the highest number. Remember that two of these works were made by the same author: Robert E. Hogan (2007Hogan ( , 2010. Other US institutions that stand out with two articles each are the State University of New York, the University of North Carolina, the University of Maryland, and Georgetown University.…”

Context Not Candidate Sex: A Case Study of Female Vote Choice for Mayor

“…This effect is due to how voters evaluate a candidate's characteristics, and the issues they are thought competent to handle based on their sex (Dolan 2014;Huddy and Terkildsen 1993a). Consequently, women are stereotyped as warm and compassionate while men are seen as the decisive and tougher sex (Alexander and Andersen 1993;Banwart 2010;Hogan 2010;Lawless 2004).…”

“…Additionally, as the racial and ethnic demographics of the city are evolving so too is its partisanship. More often than not, as candidates, women are favored by Democratic voters as opposed to Republicans (Hayes 2011;Hogan 2010;King & Matland 2003). Consequently, a recent polling data by the Pat Brown Institute finds that more Democratic voters are turning out in Los Angeles city races than are Republicans (Pat Brown Institute, 2016).…”

“…An important takeaway from our results is that the women's vote should not be treated as a monolith. Research finds that the characteristics of cities and states matter in whether or not women are elected to office (Elazar 1984;Ferreira and Gyourko 2013;Hogan 2010;Paxton, Kunovich, and Hughes 2007;Smith, Reingold & Owens 2012;Scola 2006). 20 Thus, it is possible that in places like Los Angeles with racial and ethnically diverse voters, where wealthy and highly educated individuals participate, it is the case that sex alone will not get voters, particularly women voters, to support a candidate.…”

The appeals in women contestants’ campaign slogans during the 2017 general elections in Kenya

“…The ‘successful’ election of women in 2017 is to be celebrated in Kenya, bearing in mind that women have come from a background that is largely against their political progress - culturally, politically, socio-economically, and institutionally ( Lawless and Fox, 1999 ; Kamau, 2010 ; Maathai, 2006 ; Nzomo, 1997 ). This background has also forced women to be more strategic (than men) in their political campaigns, sometimes having to exert extra effort for political seats where both women and men are contestants ( Hogan, 2010 ; Huddy and Terkildsen, 1993 ; Sossou, 2011 ).…”