The 2016 election may be more than a year away, but candidates across the country are already campaigning, fundraising, and staffing up. While both parties are excited about their prospects, Republicans are clearly lacking in one key area — female candidates.
According to the Washington Post, as of right now, seven formidable women have announced their candidacy for the U.S. Senate and all are Democrats.
The only female Republicans currently running for the Senate are incumbents like Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.).
Currently, only 20 women serve in the Senate and just six of them are Republicans.
In the House, Republicans have a similar problem, just 22 women serve on the Republican side of the aisle, comprising 9 percent of total GOP House members. Democrats have 62 female members, making up a third of their elected representatives.
This is not a new problem for Republicans.
National Journal reported in 2013 that the National Republican Congressional Committee launched project GROW (Growing Republican Opportunities for Women) to help recruit more female candidates at the national level.
But while Democrats trounce Republicans in terms of female members of Congress, the opposite is true at the state level.
Both parties have an equal amount of governorships — three Democrats and three Republicans — but the GOP has eight female lieutenant governors to the Democrats’ five.
The only current female Secretary of State is Michele Reagan (R-Ariz.), who is a Republican.
When it comes to minority women serving in the executive capacity, the first and only Hispanic-American and Indian-American female governors to hold office have both been Republicans.
