In the recent House primaries in Pennsylvania, a stark contrast was seen between the Republican and Democratic sides. While 12 out of 25 Democrats running for the U.S. House are women, only two out of 19 GOP candidates are women. This is a significant difference that has been observed since the mid-1990s, with more Democratic women being elected to Congress than Republicans.
However, there has been an increase in the number of Republican women running in primaries in recent election cycles, including 2020 and 2022. The competitiveness of the races they are in and their chances of winning in November are crucial factors in electing more women. Alfeia Goodwin, who is running for the 5th District seat in Pennsylvania, is the only Republican candidate on the ballot and has set herself up for success in the primary. However, she will face a tough challenge against incumbent Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who has a strong hold on the safe blue district.
The phenomenon of “sacrificial lamb” candidates is evident in many races where a candidate runs unopposed for a seat expected to be lost. Research has shown that Republican women are often sacrificial lamb nominees more frequently than Democratic women. In the race for Pennsylvania’s 7th District seat, Maria Montero, an attorney, is running against state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and veteran Kevin Dellicker in the GOP primary despite being a target for Republicans in November. Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy has shown support for Montero; however, she has not received endorsements from key GOP women’s groups such as VIEW PAC or Maggie’s List. E-Pac, founded by Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Trump supporter, has not made any primary endorsements this cycle despite its mission to support women in primaries.
In conclusion, while there have been an increase