The recent House primaries in Pennsylvania have shed light on the stark contrast between the number of Republican and Democratic women candidates running for office. Out of 19 GOP candidates, only two are women, while 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 is crucial to their success in November.
In the 5th District of Pennsylvania, Alfeia Goodwin is the sole Republican candidate on the ballot, setting her up for a successful primary run. However, she will face a tough challenge in November against incumbent Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who has a strong hold on the safe blue district. On the other hand, Maria Montero, an attorney, is running against state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and veteran Kevin Dellicker in the GOP primary for the 7th District seat. Although this district is a target for Republicans in November, former President Trump has not endorsed any candidate in the primary race. However, Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy has shown support for Montero.
Notably, Montero has not received endorsements from key GOP women’s groups such as VIEW PAC, Maggie’s List, E-Pac or Winning for Women. E-Pac, which was founded by Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Trump supporter, has not made any primary endorsements this cycle despite its mission to support women in primaries. This phenomenon of “sacrificial lamb” candidates is evident in many races where a candidate runs unopposed in the primary for a seat that is expected to be lost. Research has shown that Republican women are often sacrificial lamb nominees more frequently than Democratic women.
