In the upcoming House primaries in Pennsylvania, a lack of Republican women candidates is once again evident. While 12 out of 25 Democratic candidates running for the U.S. House are women, only two out of 19 GOP candidates are female. This stark contrast has been observed since the mid-1990s, with more Democratic women being elected to Congress than Republicans largely due to more Democratic women running for office.
Despite this trend, there has been an increase in the number of Republican women running in primaries in recent election cycles. However, the competitiveness of these races and their chances of winning in November remain crucial factors in electing more women. For example, Alfeia Goodwin is the sole Republican candidate on the ballot in the 5th District of Pennsylvania, setting her up for success in the primary but facing a tough challenge against incumbent Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon who holds a strong hold on the safe blue district.
The phenomenon of “sacrificial lamb” candidates is evident in many races where candidates run unopposed in primaries for seats expected to be lost. Research shows that Republican women are often sacrificial lamb nominees compared to Democratic women. In the 7th District race in Pennsylvania, incumbent Democrat Rep. Susan Wild narrowly won against a female Republican nominee Lisa Scheller last year, while Maria Montero is now running against state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and veteran Kevin Dellicker in the GOP primary this year. The 7th District is considered a target for Republicans in November but former President Trump has not endorsed any candidate yet despite his support for Vivek Ramaswamy who showed support for Montero’s candidacy. Notably, Montero has not received endorsements from key GOP women’s groups such as VIEW PAC, Maggie’s List, E-Pac or Winning for Women unlike other female GOP candidates who have received endorsements from these groups which highlight their importance role they play