Women’s Participation in Politics in the United States & Iowa As voters As political candidates As elected officials

How women won the right to vote in the united states

League of women voters Founded by Carrie Chapman Catt – who was raised in Charles City, IA, and graduated from Iowa State in 1880 – on Feb. 14, 1920 at the annual convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association – 6 months before ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution League of Women Voters replaced NAWSA after amendment ratified League of Women Voters still active today at local, state & national levels – non-partisan; open to women & men In her presidential speech at the 1920 convention, Catt outlined her vision for an organization that would work within parties, but across party lines: “In the League of Women Voters we have this anomaly: We are going to be a semi-political organization. We want to do political things. We want legislation. We are going to educate for citizenship. In that body we must be non-partisan and all partisan. Democrats from Alabama and Republicans from New Hampshire must be friends and work together for the same things and without doubt of each other's sincerity.”

The history and influence of women as voters in U.S. 1920s – Immigrant and uneducated women most hesitant to vote; women living in Western U.S. more likely to vote at rates similar to men in other areas of country 1964-2016 – Number of women voters in presidential elections larger than the number of men voters 1964 – 1.7 million more women than men voted 2016 – 9.9 million more women than men voted 1966-2018 – Number of women voters in mid-term elections larger than the number of men voters 1966 – 1.1. million more women than men voted 2018 – 8.4 million more women than men voted

The history and influence of women as voters in u.s. 1980-2016 – Proportion of women voting in presidential elections larger than the proportion of men voting 1980 – 61.9% of women vs 61.5% of men voted (+.4%) 2016 – 63.3% of women vs 59.3% of men voted (+4%) 1986-2018 – Proportion of women voting in mid-term elections larger than the proportion of men voting 1986 – 48.4% of women vs 48.2% of men voted (+.2%) 2018 –  55% of women vs 52% of men voted (+3%) 1980-2018 – More women than men are registered to vote 1980 – 6.4 million more women than men (55.7 million vs 49.3 million) 2018 – 9.6 million more women than men (81.3 million vs 71.7 million)

The History and influence of women as voters in U.S. “Gender Gap” – The difference in the percentage of women and the percentage of men voting for a given candidate In every presidential election since 1980 – 47% women vs 55% of men (8-point gap) voted for President Reagan Ranges from 4 points (1992) to 11 points (1996 & 2016) for winning candidate 55% of women vs 44% of men voted for President Clinton in 1996 41% of women vs 52% of men voted for President Trump in 2016 54% of women vs 41% of men voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 (+13 points) 10-point gender gap in 2000 and 2012 44% of women vs 54% of men voted for President G.W. Bush in 2000 55% of women vs 45% of men voted for President Obama in 2012

Gender Gap differs by race, ethnicity & Marital Status

Women Voters in Iowa Iowa ranks 9th for women’s political participation 5th in women’s voter turn-out (60.2% average) 8th in women’s voter registration (73.3% average)

History of women as political candidates in U.S. Late 1860s to 1920 – Some 3,500 women campaigned for and/or were elected to more than 60 different political offices U.S. Senate – 215 women major party candidates from 1970 to 2018 135 Democrats (63%) & 80 Republicans (37%) Record 23 women candidates in 2018 (15D, 8R) U.S. House – 2,543 women major party candidates from 1970 to 2018 1,666 Democrats (66%) & 877 Republicans (34%) Record 235 women candidates in 2018 (183D, 52R)

History of women as Political candidates in u.S. Governor – 125 women major party candidates from 1974 to 2018 83 Democrats (66%) & 42 Republicans (34%) Record 16 women candidates in 2018 (12D, 4R) Lt. Governor – 273 women major party candidates from 1974 to 2018 155 Democrats (57%) & 118 Republicans (43%) Record 28 women candidates in 2018 (17D, 11R) State Legislature – 48,621 women have run from 1974 to 2018 Record 3,418 women candidates in 2018 2,402 Democrats (70%); 993 Republicans (29%); 23 non-partisan & other party (1%)

History of women political candidates in iowa 11 Iowa women (3 Democrats, 1 Republican, 7 other party) have run in 8 general elections as their party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate between 1936-2016 28 Iowa women (15 Democrats, 3 Republicans, 10 other party) have run in 19 general elections as their party’s nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives between 1962 and 2018 10 Iowa women (2 Democrats, 1 Republican, 7 other party) have run in 7 general elections as their party’s nominee for governor from 1932 to 2018 21 women (5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, 11 other party) have appeared on 9 general election ballots as lieutenant governor from 1986 to 2018

History of women political candidates in iowa 12 women (4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, 4 other party) have run in 11 general elections for secretary of state from 1932 to 2018 4 women (1 Democrat, 1 Republican, 2 other party) have run in 6 general elections for state auditor from 1982 to 2018 4 women (3 Democrats, 1 other party) have run in 5 general elections for secretary of agriculture from 1994 to 2014 3 women (1 Democrat, 1 Republican, 1 other party) have run for attorney general in 1990, 1998 & 2010 2 women (1 Republican, 1 other party) have run for state treasurer in 1994 & 1998

History of women political candidates in IOwa

History & Influence of Women as Elected Officials 3,415 women ran in 4,654 campaigns for local, state and federal office before the 19th Amendment was ratified 1853 – Olive Rose elected register of deeds by the men of Lincoln County, ME 1855 – Teachers Lydia Hall and Marietta Patrick elected to the Ashfield, MA, school board 1869 – Julia Addington elected Mitchell County superintendent of schools in Iowa 1887 – Susanna Salter elected mayor of Argonia, KS 1892 – Laura Eisenhuth elected state superintendent of schools in ND 1894 – 3 Republican women elected to the Colorado general assembly 1896 – Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon elected to Utah state senate

History & Influence of Women as Elected Officials 1916 – Jeannette Rankin (Republican-MT) elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 1925 – Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross won a special election to replace her deceased husband as governor of Wyoming 1932 – Hattie Wyatt Caraway (D-AK) elected to U.S. Senate following death of her husband 1964 – Patsy Mink (Democrat-HI) first Asian American woman elected to Congress 1968 – Shirley Chisholm (Democrat-NY) first African American woman elected to Congress

History & Influence of Women as Elected Officials 1992 – “Year of the Woman” – number of women serving in the U.S. Congress jumped from 32 to 54 (4 to 7 in the U.S. Senate & 28 to 47 in the House) 2007 – Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-CA) first woman elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Re-elected in 2009 & 2019 2018 – Record numbers of women elected to U.S. Senate (14), U.S. House (102), state governor (9/tie 2004, 2007) & state legislatures (1,834) Record 25 women now serve in U.S. Senate, 102 in U.S. House, 9 governors and 2,131 in state legislatures

History and influence of women as elected officials in IOwa 2014 – Republican U.S. Senator Joni Ernst becomes 1st woman elected to U.S. Congress from Iowa 2018 – Democrats Cindy Axne (3rd Congressional District) & Abby Finkenauer (1st Congressional District) become 1st women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa 2018 – Republican Kim Reynolds becomes 1st woman elected governor of Iowa As Lt. Governor, Reynolds became governor in 2017 to fill vacancy created when Gov. Branstad appointed ambassador to China A woman has served as Iowa’s lieutenant governor from 1987- May 2017 Jo Ann Zimmerman (D-1987-91); Joy Corning (R-1991-99); Sally Pederson (D-1999-2007); Patty Judge (D-2007-11); Kim Reynolds (R-2011-17)

History and influence of women as elected officials in IOwa 2011 – State Representative Linda Upmeyer (R) begins her term as 1st woman elected House majority leader in Iowa 3 women – Ola Babcock Miller (D-1933-37), Mary Jane Odell (R-1980-86) & Elaine Baxter (D-1987-95) – have served as Iowa secretary of state Democrat Bonnie Campbell elected Iowa’s 1st (and only) woman attorney general to serve from 1991-1995 Democrat Patty Judge elected Iowa’s 1st (and only) woman secretary of agriculture to serve from 1999-2007 Republican Mary Mosiman appointed in 2013 & elected in 2014 to serve as Iowa’s 1st (and only) woman state auditor from 2013-2019

History of women serving in the iowa state legislature

Women in elected office in 2019 Women now comprise: 23.7% of women in U.S. Congress (25 in Senate, 102 in House) Ranks 76th in world (up from 100th in 2018; 104th in 2017) 27.6% of women in statewide executive office 9 women governors – Iowa’s Kim Reynolds 28.9% of women in state legislatures Iowa ranks 23rd (up from 31st in 2018) with 45 women (11 Senate, 34 House) = 30% 20.9% of women mayors of cities 30,000+ 27% of women mayors of 100 largest cities

Does women’s representation matter? Research shows that women in elected state and federal office are: More likely to introduce legislation of particular importance to women (children, families, women’s rights) More likely to view government as a tool to serve underrepresented or minority groups More likely to work across party lines, even in highly partisan environments Perceived as more honest and collaborative, more likely than men to work to improve the quality of life for Americans & more likely to stand up for their beliefs even under political pressure

Sources Bystrom, Dianne G., and Barbara Burrell (Editors). 2019. Women in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates, and Office Holders. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. 2019. Women in Iowa Politics Database. https://wp.las.iastate.edu/cattcenter/research/wip-database/ Center for American Women and Politics. 2019. Facts. https://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/facts

2014 U.S. Senate campaign ad: joni Ernst “squeal”

2018 U.S. House campaign ad: Cindy Axne “start”

2018 Iowa governor’s race ad: Kim Reynolds “Training”

2018 U.S. House campaign ad: Abby finkenauer “Dinner Table”

Questions for class discussion What about your woman’s background qualifies her most for elected office? What are some of the issues your woman campaigned upon and/or advocates for in elected office? How has your woman elected official impacted public policy at the state or federal level, for example through legislation introduced, supported or enacted?