Press Release

Of the Republican groups, VIEW PAC has endorsed the most non-incumbents in primaries through May 21: Wendy Davis in Indiana's 3rd, Luisa Del Rosal in Texas's 26th, Mariela Roca in Maryland's 6th, Dobson in Alabama's 2nd, Buckhout in North Carolina's 1st and Flores in Texas's 34th District. As we noted earlier, the latter three of these six endorsees won their primaries and advanced to competitive general election contests. (Had Davis or Del Rosal won their primaries, they'd likely have had an easier path in November, based on district lean.) Both non-incumbents endorsed by Maggie's List — Buckhout and DeSpain** — won their primaries, while Winning for Women went one for two, endorsing Buckhout and Davis. Meanwhile, E-PAC has not yet listed any 2024 endorsees on its website ahead of the May 21 primaries — though it has since announced some endorsements.

That leaves us with a fairly small sample size on the GOP side, and it's notable that the party's women's groups have gotten off to a particularly slow start this year. At a similar point in the 2022 election cycle, our data shows that VIEW PAC had endorsed 13 non-incumbent primary candidates, Maggie's List nine, Winning for Women seven and E-PAC six. That's despite the fact that only 14 states had voted by the end of May 2022, compared to 17 so far this year.

Of course, the primaries are far from over, so it's too early to say whether both parties will nominate fewer women this cycle compared to last and, moreover, what it means. How women's groups' endorsees overlap with the MAGA movement or the progressive movement, for example, could also tell us something about the direction of the Republican and Democratic parties, and the role of women and women's groups within them.

Republican women's groups have endorsed women in a few notable upcoming races, such as the races for North Dakota's and Alaska's at-large seats, and races in Washington's 3rd, Michigan's 8th and New York's 18th District, so their numbers will go up. Plus, according to the National Journal's Hotline, as of mid-May, E-PAC is planning high-dollar fundraising for several women ahead of their primaries, which suggests they may be ramping up their efforts. Likewise, EMILYs List has endorsed in contested primaries in Michigan's 8th, Florida's 27th and New York's 1st District. Given the importance of endorsements in these races, we'll be closely tracking their activity as we wait and see whether more Democratic or Republican women win their primaries this cycle and how organizational support might help them do it.

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