The rise of women candidates

Locked in one of the toughest House races in the nation, GOP candidate Melissa Brown wasn't missing any constituent on a swing through a community barbecue here, not even 3-year-old David Brooks. When he reached for the campaign sticker on her jacket, she gave it to him - prompting a comment from his father that women candidates in the fight of their lives don't usually like to hear: "She's a nice lady."

The "nice lady but..." tag has worked as a put-down of women candidates in the past. "It's a subtle suggestion that women shouldn't hold this position," says Debbie Walsh of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

But the race for the open seat in Pennsylvania's 13th District is one of a number of national races where there's no gender card to play because both candidates are women. It's a sign of the coming of age of the women's movement in politics.

"I tell people right out: 'I'm running against a woman.' So anyone that wants to pick on gender, it's off the table," says Dr. Brown, an eye surgeon before taking up politics.

This year, a record 138 women have run for the US House of Representatives as major-party candidates, 57 as incumbents. In 11 districts, women are competing against other women, eight as incumbents, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.

While no one is predicting another "Year of the Woman," as in 1992 when a record 39 women ran for open seats, the bumper crop of women candidates this year is expected to increase the number of women representatives, now at 60.

Moreover, most women aren't running as amateurs anymore. By any measure - from experience in government, to funds raised, to the professionalism of their campaigns - the class of 2004 is the most capable group of women candidates yet.

"The women who are running this year are tough as nails. These are women who know how to raise the money, put together the campaign operation, and have the political and constituent bases," says Karen White of Emily's List, a political action group that backs Democratic women supporting abortion rights. "In the early 1980s, women were the anomaly, the underdog. These are leading candidates."

Brown's Democratic opponent is Allyson Schwartz, a four-term state legislator, who led a tough field in her primary. Before entering politics, she helped found a women's health center in Philadelphia. Last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) disclosed that it had spent $387,000 in mailings for the Schwartz campaign. Emily's List has put more than $767,000 into her campaign, including the primary. At the same time, the Republican Party has spent more than $555,000 on Brown.

"Allyson Schwartz is one of our premier candidates," says Rep. Robert Matsui (D) of California, the DCCC chairman. "She raised more than $2 million in the primary and $1.8 million in the general election. Republicans started an independent campaign against her [last week], but we're heavily in that race."

Page: 1 | 2