Introduction

Cori Bush’s victory, along with those of other women of color, is simultaneously something to celebrate and investigate. The chapter discusses the concerned with studying the multiplicity of women of color political elites as distinct actors in American democracy. As guest co-editors of two issues on the subject, we wanted to curate a set of essays from both established and burgeoning thought leaders and empiricists on the complexities of seeking elected office and governing as women of color. Political scientists have long recognized that women of color experience politics in a manner distinct from White women and men of color. Whereas the Reingold et al. study is an example of intersectional methods informing how we study women of color, the Greene et al. study is an example of how studying women of color advances scholarly notices of gendered and racialized implications for political actors.