The midterm elections in Pennsylvania this year have brought attention to the lack of Republican women candidates. Out of the 19 GOP candidates running for the U.S. House, only two are women. In stark contrast, on the Democratic side, 12 out of 25 candidates are women.
Despite an increase in the number of Republican women running in primaries in recent election cycles, the competitiveness of their races remains crucial to their success come November. Alfeia Goodwin is currently the sole Republican candidate on the ballot in Pennsylvania’s 5th District, giving her a strong chance of winning her primary race. However, she will face a tough challenge against incumbent Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who has a safe blue district and a strong hold on voters.
The phenomenon of “sacrificial lamb” candidates is evident in many races where candidates run unopposed in primaries for seats that are expected to be lost. Research has shown that Republican women are often sacrificed more frequently than Democratic women as nominees. For example, Maria Montero is currently running against state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and veteran Kevin Dellicker for the seat held by incumbent Democrat Susan Wild in Pennsylvania’s 7th District race. Despite being considered a target by Republicans for November, former President Trump has not endorsed any candidate in this primary race yet. However, Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy has shown support for Montero so far. It’s worth noting that Montero hasn’t received endorsements from key GOP women’s groups such as VIEW PAC or Maggie’s List yet despite their mission to support women in primaries like E-Pac founded by Rep Elise Stefanik who supports Trump but hasn’t made any endorsements this cycle either.[
