Virginia will elect its first female governor this year, but many other women are also on the ballot this fall.
1992 was called the "Year of the Woman" because five women were elected to the United States Senate. 2018 was also called the "Year of the Woman" because 103 women were elected to the House of Representatives. Now, 2025 could be Virginia's "Year of the Woman" because a female candidate will be elected governor for the first time this year. Hala Ayala is chairwoman of the Virginia Democratic Women's Caucus, which is endorsing 50 female candidates up and down the ballot in Virginia races this year.
"There's a real sense of disappointment happening in national politics about last year's election," Ayala says. "I know I'm still pretty upset about it, and a lot of other women are pretty upset about it, and so this is part of that motivation that they're answering the call to run for office."
Republicans have also been successful in recruiting female candidates. But Jatia Wrighten at Virginia Commonwealth University says there's still a gender imbalance.
"Women are less likely to be recruited by the Republican Party. They're less likely to be tapped for different positions, even though we have seen slight changes in that historical trend," says Wrighten. "But I mean, I think that's also why we see some of the partisan effects where [the] Republican Party seems to be a lot more cohesive in the messaging and the platforms that they present, and that that is due to the lack of diversity in the Republican Party."
House Democrats are trying to unseat three female members of the House of Delegates. All three of the challengers those incumbent Republicans are female candidates.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
