Resources for Election Day 2023

Next Tuesday, November 7th, elections will be held around the country and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, has prepared resources for covering women in these contests. In Kentucky, elections are being held for statewide elective executive office; in New Jersey and Virginia, elections are being held for state legislative offices; and in Mississippi elections are being held for both statewide executive and state legislative offices. Louisiana, which also has statewide and state legislative elections in 2023, will conduct its general election on November 18th; view results from the Louisiana primaries here. In addition, there are notable mayoral contests being decided in 2023 as well.

What to Watch

• New Jersey and Virginia saw high levels of women state legislative incumbents leaving office or losing a primary in 2023. In New Jersey, 12 women incumbents – representing 27.9% of current women legislators – are not running for re-election or lost a primary election. In Virginia, 14 women incumbents are not running (one of whom has already departed office) or lost a primary, representing 29.8% of women legislators serving at the time of the Virginia primary. These departures create the distinct possibility that both states could see a decline in women’s state legislative representation.
• In Kentucky, Pamela Stevenson is the Democratic nominee for attorney general. If she were to win in the general election, she would become the state’s first woman attorney general.
• Also in Kentucky, Sierra Enlow won the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner. Should she win in the general election, she would become the first woman to hold the office.
• In Mississippi, women did not break records for total major-party nominations for either chamber. Mississippi ranks 48th in the nation for women’s state legislative representation. Given the results of the primary election, it is unlikely that the state will see an increase in the number of women serving.
• Also in Mississippi, Addie Lee Green won the Democratic nomination for treasurer. She will challenge incumbent Republican State Treasurer David McRae. If successful, Green would be the first Black woman elected statewide in Mississippi.
• In Louisiana, which will hold its general election on November 18th, two women have advanced to general elections for both secretary of state and attorney general. No woman has ever served as Louisiana’s attorney general, and no woman has served as secretary of state since 1930.
• In mayoral races:
  • Philadelphia: Cherelle Parker is the Democratic nominee for mayor and will likely become the city’s first woman mayor and first Black woman mayor; currently, 8 (7D, 1NP) Black women serve as mayors in cities among the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S.
  • Houston: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is a leading candidate in the nonpartisan election for mayor. Jackson Lee would be the first Black woman mayor of Houston.
  • Wichita: Lily Wu is running against incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple; should she win, she would become the first Asian American woman mayor of Wichita. Currently, 4 (3D, 1R) Asian American women serve as mayors in cities among the top 100 most populous cities in the U.S.

CAWP Election Resources

• 2023 Statewide and State Legislative Women Candidates. Full list of all women running in 2023 elections with information on party, seat incumbency status, and primary results.
• Primary Results. Results from state primaries in the 2023 elections, with analysis and data on women nominees.
  • Kentucky.
  • Louisiana (general election on November 18th).
  • Mississippi.
  • New Jersey.
  • Virginia.
• The Fight for Partisan Control of Virginia’s State Legislature Continues and Democratic Women are on the Front Line. Analysis about women in Virginia state legislative elections from Rosalyn Cooperman, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.
• Past Candidate and Election Information. See candidate information and election results from previous election cycles, including off-year state elections similar to 2023.

CAWP will release results data for women candidates following election day. For the most up-to-date information about women in elections, head to CAWP’s Election Watch.