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This article explores the impact of a quarter century of gender politics in presidential elections in the United States stressing the dual importance of differences between men and women, the gender gap, and women as a political force as they have come not only to exceed men in their voting numbers but also in their turnout rate. It reviews the way women's votes have affected presidential campaigns, drawing attention to the effect women's and men's votes have had on the Electoral College which is what counts in presidential elections. It raises the important question of what impact the attention to women voters has had on the public policies of administrations between elections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Examines Hillary Rodham Clinton's relationship with the public. Policy advice to the president; Divergent views between men and women; Presidential politics and gender roles in American politics and society.

Studies in several relatively small-population and rural states in the 1970s show few differences in the types of state legislative races in which men and women are nominated and how well they do at the ballot box. This study extends our knowledge of the role of gender in state legislative campaigns, geographically and over time by exploring the comparative electoral experience of male and female candidates for state legislative office in a more urban setting in the 1980s. It expands the range of subject matter by considering women candidates' presence, primary campaign experiences, and fundraising. The data show that few women have run for office in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in the 1980s, but those who have run have done so strategically and with a comparable rate of success with male candidates. A gender gap does exist in campaign contributions to male candidates' advantage, but this has not kept women candidates from achieving equality at the ballot box. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of primary entry and outcome patterns in 1984 enlarges our understanding of the inability of women to increase their numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives. It shows the lack of a significant presence of female candidates, differences in entry patterns between male and female challengers working to women's disadvantage in obtaining a legislative seat, a mixed pattern regarding outcomes but equity in voter reactions for those who put themselves forward. Incumbency advantage plus absence rather than discrimination account for the small number of female members of Congress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]