Republican Women Serving in State Legislatures

In an article published by The Atlantic, Karyn Bruggeman asserts that “if women are going to achieve parity in elective office, most of the gains will have to come from the GOP” (Bruggmen, 2015). Unfortunately, Bruggeman’s statement is all too true. While Democrat women have made consistent gains in elected offices at the state and national levels of government, Republican female representation has continued to dwindle, particularly in state legislatures. In fact, the percentage of Republican women serving in state legislatures is the same today as when it last peaked in 1995 at 9%. At that time, the percentage of female Democrats serving was 11%. Today, however, Democrat women make up nearly 20% of all state legislatures—Republican representation has not changed in a quarter century. Most of the literature and rhetoric surrounding female candidacy and representation puts both Republican and Democrat women in the same category, treating them as if they experience candidacy and the decision to run in the same way—though this is certainly not the case. This paper will identify and discuss key factors that affect Republican female candidacy both positively and negatively. In addition, this paper highlights Utah’s unique challenges and makes recommendations to increase the number of Republican women running and serving in the state legislature. The information presented in the research is critical to understanding because both progressive and conservative voices of women in Utah and beyond are necessary to the policy making process in working towards a more representative and responsive form of government. This paper was originally completed in May 2019 as the author’s thesis for a Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Utah. Some of the literature has been updated.

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