The Pink Wave: An Examination of Women Running for Local Office

• In Event: No Way: Mass and Elite Resistance to the Neo-Populist Agenda

Abstract

Political pundits have recently noted the rise of women running for public office--a phenomenon termed the "pink wave". Indeed, 309 women filed to run for positions in the US House, a 90% increase from 2016. The Senate has also seen an increase among female candidates, with 54 women running, comprising a record 22% of the candidate field. Similar patterns are emerging among state governor races. However, little is known about whether this trend holds at the local level. Here, we seek to assess if there is a growing field of female candidates for local office.

This is a particularly apt question, given that women report being more motivated to seek local offices rather than state or national positions. In fact, Lawless and Fox (2005) find that more than 76% of female respondents would consider running for local positions, while only 60% of men reported the same. Moreover, men were far more likely to select state or national positions than female participants. These findings are likely driven by the differing motivations of men and women. Bledsoe and Herring (1990) find that men on the city council were more motivated by their own political ambition than their fellow female members. Conversely, women are often found to be more motivated to run by community issues (Fox 1997; Astin and Leland 1991). In fact, the pink wave might be most pronounced among local races.

Here, we examine first whether there has been an increase in female candidates in local races for both mayor and council positions, comparing figures from prior to, during, and in the wake of the 2016 election, employing data for all municipal elections from eleven states. We then examine how contextual and institutional variation at the local shape the supply of female candidates in municipal elections and consider how state-level factors (partisanship, female representation) might also influence female candidacies for city council and mayoral races.

Authors

• Melissa J. Marschall, Rice University

• Markie McBrayer, University of Idaho