New Jersey should
join women's rise in politics
EDITORIAL, from the
Home News Tribune Online, October 30, 2006
According to some experts, the
disgust over the scandals in Washington and the weariness with the Iraq war may
break the election along more than party lines. It may also be a big year
for women. The Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University
grabbed the headlines when it announced last week that, after the election, the
U.S. Senate may have more women than ever before in its history. The House
of Representatives also could be on track to make double-digit gains in female
membership. The center also announced that the number of women running in
statewide races was at a historic high — 2,431 women, 56 more than the 2,375
that ran in 1992.
Alas, there is no consensus on whether this represents real progress for female
representation or whether it is a simple blip — the high-water mark in 1992
followed the Anita Hill hearings on Capitol Hill. Those at Rutgers seem
more confident of the national trend, where women have been making steady
inroads. There are 14 female senators, which already is the highest in the
nation's history; all six up for re-election hold wide leads, and two more may
join them. The number of female representatives has been growing steadily
as well.
At the statewide level, gains are less clear. The steady increases
predicted after the 1992 election have not materialized, as they have in
Congress. The other bad news is that New Jersey has no statewide races
this year so it is not participating in the upswing. It has two female
challengers for a House seat, but if polls hold, New Jersey will be sending an
all-male delegation back to Washington, yet again. The state has lagged
historically in the number of female politicians; it would be nice to see some
of its state university's homegrown activism bleed over into the political
sector.
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