Early Fundraising by Nonincumbent Female Congressional Candidates: The Importance of Women’s PACs

Throughout the past several decades, female candidates running for the U.S. Congress have become increasingly competitive and successful. Women have more than doubled their numbers in the U.S. House since 1975 and now raise comparable sums of money to men after controlling for political experience and incumbency status (Burrell 1985, 1994; Uhlaner and Schlozman 1986). The growth of women’s political action committees (PAC) is one of the reasons for the improved fortunes of female congressional candidates, particularly challengers and open-seat candidates (Seltzer, Newman, and Voorhees Leighton 1997; Witt, Paget, and Matthews 1994).