More Women Governor Candidates than Ever in US
2022-08-10
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1The two major American political parties have nominated a record number of female candidates to lead states in the country.
2Voting for new governors will be held in 36 American states in November.
3So far, 20 women have won party nominations, breaking the record of 16 set four years ago.
4Thirteen represent the Democratic Party, and seven represent the Republican Party.
5"It's notable because this is an area where women's underrepresentation has been quite persistent," said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at Rutgers University's Center for American Women in Politics.
6"But it's especially important as we see major policy issues being allocated back to the states," Dittmar said, noting recent constitutional court decisions on reproductive rights and voting rights.
7Currently, nine women serve as governors in the United States, the highest number in its history.
8"It's a powerful and influential political position where we want women's voices and experiences to be heard," Dittmar said.
9In total, the two parties have named 47 candidates for governor.
10Fifteen nominations are still to be decided.
11In five of the governor races this year, women represent both major parties.
12"It's a good reminder for us not to make assumptions that women are the same in ways that we don't make that assumption for men who are competing against each other," Dittmar said.
13Seeing women in positions of power sends an important message to donors, voters and future female candidates about the ability of women to succeed at the highest political levels, Dittmar said.
14"We want enough women in these offices that there are a diversity of them."
15Dittmar added, "You know, we've only ever had three women of color governors in all of U.S. history. We only have one woman of color currently serving as governor. We've never had a black woman governor."
16I'm Faith Pirlo.
1The two major American political parties have nominated a record number of female candidates to lead states in the country. Voting for new governors will be held in 36 American states in November. 2So far, 20 women have won party nominations, breaking the record of 16 set four years ago. Thirteen represent the Democratic Party, and seven represent the Republican Party. 3"It's notable because this is an area where women's underrepresentation has been quite persistent," said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at Rutgers University's Center for American Women in Politics. 4"But it's especially important as we see major policy issues being allocated back to the states," Dittmar said, noting recent constitutional court decisions on reproductive rights and voting rights. 5Currently, nine women serve as governors in the United States, the highest number in its history. 6"It's a powerful and influential political position where we want women's voices and experiences to be heard," Dittmar said. 7In total, the two parties have named 47 candidates for governor. 8Fifteen nominations are still to be decided. 9In five of the governor races this year, women represent both major parties. 10"It's a good reminder for us not to make assumptions that women are the same in ways that we don't make that assumption for men who are competing against each other," Dittmar said. 11Seeing women in positions of power sends an important message to donors, voters and future female candidates about the ability of women to succeed at the highest political levels, Dittmar said. 12"We want enough women in these offices that there are a diversity of them." 13Dittmar added, "You know, we've only ever had three women of color governors in all of U.S. history. We only have one woman of color currently serving as governor. We've never had a black woman governor." 14I'm Faith Pirlo. 15Dora Mekouar wrote this article for VOA. Faith Pirlo adapted it for Learning English. 16_______________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18persistent - adj. continuing over and over again 19allocate - v. to divide and give out (something) for a special reason or to particular people, companies, etc. 20assumption - n. something that is believed to be true or probably true but that is not known to be true: something that is assumed 21diversity - n. the condition or fact of being different 22________________________________________________________________________ 23What do you think of the US having the most women candidates for governor in its history? 24We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 25Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.