Gender and Campaigns for the State Legislature in an Urban Setting. Working Paper No. 191.

Studies in several relatively low-population, 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 increases 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. (Author)