Though women are largely underrepresented in local government, according to a Mirya Holman in the 2017 journal article, Women in Local Government, some say the future of local government is women.
According to The Hill, that future could be changing this year with record numbers running for office in 2018.
Both major parties have nominated at least 3,260 women in the 46 states holding state legislative elections, pending final tallies in states where races have not yet been called.
In the 2016 election cycle, there were 2,649 female nominees.
“The trigger that launched this juggernaut that we’ve been seeing is the election of Donald Trump,” said Deborah Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, adding:
If they wanted to have elected officials who looked like them and sounded like them, they needed to be the candidate.”
So inspiring to join other women candidates tonight at @Emerge_PA to talk about our experiences running for office this year. #YearoftheWoman #BlueWave2018 pic.twitter.com/gFyjV2ktUS
— Susan Ellis Wild (@wildforcongress) June 14, 2018
On the federal level, majority control of the House of Representatives will be determined by the the women running for seats this year, with the balance running as Democratic candidates, according to the story.
Democrats nominated 182 female candidates, while Republicans nominated 53. However, both numbers of women candidates nominated are new highs.