More Alabama Women Putting their Names on the Ballot
Women make up just 15 percent of Alabama lawmakers. Nationally, that’s a far smaller proportion than many states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But that could change this year. At least 90 women have filed to run for Congressional or state-level offices in this year’s Alabama primary.
That increase comes despite the difficulty in getting women to run for office, says Stacie Propst, executive director of Emerge Alabama, an organization that recruits and trains progressive women to be candidates. Propst says there can be a mystique about politics and women are often left out of the fundraising networks that support male candidates. She says she’s had to ask some women multiple times to run before they said yes.
“They do often want to be qualified or over qualified,” says Propst. “Men don’t have that problem.”
But once they’re on the ballot, women generally win about as often as men do, according to Kelley Dittmar of the Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics. Dittmar says nationally the women running this cycle tend to be focused on issues as opposed to simply presenting themselves as female candidates. And she says the energy is lopsided between the two parties.
“Almost all of that increase is happening among Democratic women,” says Dittmar. “So we don’t see any significant increase, and at some level a small decline or at least stasis in the numbers of Republican women running.”
Alabama’s Republican governor and chief justice are both women. They’re running to keep their jobs. Susan DuBose of the Greater Birmingham Republican Women says she’s looking for the most qualified candidate, not necessarily a woman. But she says Republicans can do more to recruit women.
“We need to do a better job training women and making them feel comfortable, and in Alabama, women need to educate themselves,” says DuBose.
The first test for this wave of Alabama women candidates will be the primaries on June 5th.
You can hear more discussion about women running for office in the WBHM Politics podcast. Find it here or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play or NPR One.
On ‘The Life of a Showgirl,’ Taylor Swift feels love’s glow and the spotlight’s glare
On her 12th album, the most dominant pop star of our era makes a spectacle of herself in full flower, in love and holding the music industry in the palm of her hand.
FDA approves another generic abortion pill, prompting outrage from conservatives
Drugmaker Evita Solutions announced on its website that the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its low-cost form of the pill, which is approved to end pregnancies through 10 weeks.
As the shutdown drags on, the threat of permanent cuts is mired in politics
President Trump is meeting with his budget director, Russ Vought, about what additional cuts to make during the shutdown, and the president says his targets are partisan.
Pope Leo’s religious community is drawing renewed interest. Here’s what makes it unique
"Before, we might get two or three discerners. But after Pope Leo, I now have 15. It's unbelievable."
The CDC still hasn’t issued COVID vaccine guidelines, leaving access in limbo
Access to the COVID-19 vaccines remains difficult because of an unusual and unexplained delay by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in accepting recommendations from its advisers.
National Guard presence may deter crime, but experts warn of the long-term costs
As President Trump ramps up efforts to send federal officers and troops into cities, criminologists are watching closely. Are the feds doing this in a smart way?