As the 2018 midterms draw nearer, Republicans in Congress are facing serious headwinds from a relatively unpopular president, a Democratic base that is especially energized, and a growing number of retirements from incumbent members. With roughly two dozen House members retiring outright and around another dozen leaving the chamber to pursue other offices, the challenge facing Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republicans is daunting.
At the same time, there is a great deal of focus on the work that has been done recruiting female candidates to take the plunge and run for office. TIME Magazine recently devoted a cover story to the wave of women who are putting their names on the ballot this year. An analysis by Dr. Kelly Dittmar of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics found that in November 2017, over 350 women had announced a bid for Congress, and this was “about double the number of women House candidates at this time in 2015, and more than double in elections 2014 and 2012.”
