Women and Congress

Running, Winning, and Ruling

Karen O'Connor

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781136402876
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Explore the effects women have had on Congress!Containing vital insights into the role women play in Congress, Women and Congress: Running, Winning, and Ruling is a unique look into the political standing of female candidates and congresswomen. Chapters written by noted political scientists consider the challenges of being a congresswoman in the male-dominated political arena, illustrate the fundamental and advanced techniques vital to winning an election, and show how congresswomen have been most effective once in office.Women and Congress brings you thoughtful discussions of:

• how campaign finance, speaking on the floor, introducing new legislation, and political action committees have contributed to the success of women politicians
• the effect of media on election outcomes, including the media's portrayal of women and the ways female candidates present themselves to the media
• discrimination against women in media coverage
• differences in the ways Democratic and Republican women view political issues
• the political glass ceiling (how incumbency, gender, and strategy play a role in elections)
• and much more!

Index

Abortion/abortion rights. See also Hyde Amendment

Congresswomen’s “women-invoked” rhetoric about, 134, 135, 136-137, 138, 139, 140, 141

percentage of population opposed to, 123

U.S. Supreme Court decision on, 8

women candidates’ support for, 167-168

as women’s issue, 23

media coverage of, 148

in 1992 elections, 23, 24

women’s organizations’ position on, 8

African-American Congresswomen, stereotypes of, 154

Age factors, in electoral behavior, 29

Almanac of American Politics, The, 65

American National Senate Election Study, 81, 84-85

America Votes, 64

Antiabortion activists, 8-9

Antiabortion legislation

Hyde Amendment, congressional debate about, 105-127

gender differences in, 113-117, 118, 119-121, 122, 124

about morality issue, 113, 114, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122-124

about women’s health issue, 112, 113-114, 118, 119-121, 122, 124

of states, 8-9

Arizona state legislature, 109

AuCoin, Les, 107-108

Bill sponsorship, by Congresswomen, 107, 108, 109

Boxer, Barbara, 122-123, 149

Breast cancer research, funding for, 134

“Bundling,” in campaign financing, 11

California, 16th Congressional District, 15-16

Campaign advisors, for nonincumbents, 9

Campaign financing. See also Fundraising

of incumbents, 62

in open-seat elections, 39, 41, 42-43, 44-45

by political action committees (PACs), 8

average amount of money raised by, 11, 12

“bundling” by, 11

candidates’ political experience and, 14, 15

district partisanship and, 14, 15

incumbent vulnerability and, 15

in open-seat elections, 14, 15

political party-related differences in, 8-20

for “underdog” candidates, 15-16

effect on vote percentages, 16-17

Campaign strategies

gender differences in, 170

effect of news media coverage on, 83

Candidates, female

electoral behavior toward

age factors in, 29

effect of gender-related information on, 21-36

in 1992 election, 21-36

in 1994 election, 24-25, 28, 29-30

in 1996 election, 24-25, 28, 30

race factors in, 29

sex factors in, 29

fundraising for

lack of partisan b...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Copyright
• Title
• Contents
• About the Editors
• Introduction
• Early Fundraising by Nonincumbent Female Congressional Candidates: The Importance of Women’s PACs
• Electoral Context, Issues, and Voting for Women in the 1990s
• Candidate Sex and Congressional Elections: Open Seats Before, During, and After the Year of the Woman
• The Political Glass Ceiling: Gender, Strategy, and Incumbency in U.S. House Elections, 1978-1998
• The Electoral Glass Ceiling? Gender, Viability, and the News in U.S. Senate Campaigns
• Do Differences Matter? Women Members of Congress and the Hyde Amendment
• Speaking Out: An Analysis of Democratic and Republican Woman-Invoked Rhetoric of the 105th Congress
• “How Does She Have Time for Kids and Congress?” Views on Gender and Media Coverage from House Offices
• Research on Women in Legislatures: What Have We Learned, Where Are We Going?
• About the Contributors
• Index