With this fall’s midterm elections, the number of women serving in Congress could drop for the first time in a generation — a twist on a political season many had dubbed “the year of the woman.”

If large numbers of Democratic incumbents lose in November, as expected, many women could be replaced by men. Female candidates tend to do better in Democratic years, and 2010 is shaping up as a successful year for Republicans.

Women now hold 90 seats in Congress: 69 are Democrats and 21 are Republicans. After the November election, Congress could end up with as many as 10 fewer female members, prognosticators now say, the first backslide in the uninterrupted march of women to Washington since 1978.

The prospect of a setback has advocates of women’s rights in disbelief, but determined to try to prevent it. “That is not going to happen,” said Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, which is working to elect candidates of both sexes who support women’s equality.

While political attention has focused this year on Sarah Palin’s handpicked candidates and on a record number of Republican women running for House seats, primary losses have thinned their ranks to several dozen.

In fact, just four women are among the GOP’s 46 “Young Guns,” as the party calls its frontline challengers who are considered future leaders.

Republican campaign officials expect more female candidates will join the group as they prove themselves with the fundraising and organization needed to mount serious campaigns. But the bulk of “Republican candidates in these really promising seats are men,” said David Wasserman, a congressional analyst at the Cook Political Report who has been monitoring the situation.

Many of the vulnerable Democratic women this fall first arrived on the waves of the 2006 and 2008 elections, but now face tough odds in districts that have since soured on the party in power and on President Obama’s agenda.

Freshman Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), who won in 2008 in an increasingly split district long dominated by the GOP, is being challenged by a 32-year-old Iraq war veteran, Adam Kinzinger, one of the Young Guns.

Another endangered Democratic congresswoman, Betsy Markey, a freshman from Colorado, is being challenged by a fifth-generation farmer and state representative, Cory Gardner, who is also a Young Gun.

Republican officials in Washington say that their female candidates will make gains, pointing to Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby, who is running against Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright in Alabama, and ophthalmologist Nan Hayworth, who hopes to oust two-term Democratic Rep. John Hall in New York.

“The 2010 candidate recruitment class is a formidable one, and that includes a number of top-tier female candidates who will likely be called ‘congresswoman’ after November,” said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee.

In the Senate, if voters reject Democrats Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Patty Murray of Washington, both will probably be replaced by men.

Republican female candidates could pick up Senate seats in Connecticut, where World Wrestling Entertainment’s Linda McMahon is running for the open seat held by retiring Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, and in Nevada, where “tea party” favorite Sharron Angle wants to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Yet overall, the numbers are not likely to overcome potential losses by women.

The fortunes of women in Congress have ebbed and flowed since the first, Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, took office in the House in 1917, three years before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote.

Women made mostly steady gains through the election of President Kennedy in 1960, when 20 women held office in Congress, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

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Murkowski gained just 38 votes on Tuesday, coming up well shy of what she needed to win her party’s nomination.

With new votes tallied across the state, Murkowski cut her deficit early on, but by the end of the day she still trailed Miller by 1,630 votes with approximately 15,000 more ballots counted. Another 10,000 or so are to be counted later.

By conceding, Murkowski becomes the third incumbent senator to lose re-nomination this year and the second to lose a primary. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) lost a primary in April, while Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) fell at his party’s May convention.

In addition, four House incumbents have lost their primaries.

Women are more visible in the political realm than ever before: Sarah Palin, Nancy Pelosi, and Hillary Clinton have all made it to the top of their profession. To a casual observer, it may seem as though American women are breaking the proverbial glass ceiling. They’re not.

Despite our status as the world’s premier democracy, the United States ranks 74th in the world when it comes to female lawmakers, behind Venezuela (71), Austria (27), and Angola (10). Sure, other nations have quota systems to help women in the political ranks, but the United States, with all its ideals, shouldn’t need such things.

Perhaps sexism’s to blame, and family and child rearing is an obvious social barrier. Women remain the primary caregivers and can find it difficult to balance children with a career, not to mention a campaign staff. But familial obligations aside, plenty of women simply don’t feel competent enough for public office. “A man and a woman can have the same exact resume, but a woman won’t feel like she has the qualifications to run for office,” says Andrea Steele, whose organization, Emerge America, trains Democratic women how to run for office. “This is an idea that we have to go out and debunk.” Women focus on the qualifications they lack, and those prerequisites include an iron stomach.

“A lot of women find the mechanics of politics daunting and distasteful,” says Steele. “They say, ‘I have to fundraise? They’re going to probe into my personal life?’ The whole arena is off-putting.” Erin Vilardi from the nonpartisan White House Project also used the word “arena,” telling me, “When politics become partisan, uncivil, it turns women off. It doesn’t look like an arena where you can get something done.” Other times women just don’t feel wanted in political expeditions.

According to the Center for American Women and Politics, women are more likely to go into office after being recruited. “Most women state representatives ran for their first elective office because of encouragement, which echoes the findings of recent studies of candidates and potential candidates,” write the researchers in their report, “Poised to Run.” San Francisco School Board member Rachel Norton told me that she ran because a friend suggested it, and New Mexico State Representative Karen Gianni said the same thing. Even after being asked, however, sometimes women want a helping hand.

There are dozens of organizations, networks, and PACs dedicated to training and electing female lawmakers. Republicans have groups like the Wish List and the National Federation of Republican Women, and Democrats have their own groups, such as EMILY’s List and Steele’s Emerge America. by byWomen who enroll will learn the same standard skills men would learn: How to speak concisely, lessons on community organization, and tips on messaging—but from an entirely different perspective. “We look at it through a gendered lens,” says Vilardi of the nonpartisan White House Project. As Steele mentioned above, fundraising proves to be quite the foible for female politicians. In most circumstances, women are fantastic fundraisers; when it comes to asking for themselves, they buckle.

To read the full article, click here.

The Emerge program is unique in that 25 women are identified in each state each year and are put through a comprehensive, rigorous seven-month training program.  The women in the program are also given the opportunity to meet women leaders and donors throughout their states and build their networking skills.

Emerge America has nine affiliate states, the most recent being Kentucky, and eventually hopes to be in all 50 states. A national search has been underway for several weeks for the new president, and the organization is open to the possibility of moving the national headquarters to Washington D.C. or New York if a qualified candidate is located in that area.

The application deadline is May 31^st.  For more details and information, click here.

Prichard will work with political, business and non-profit clients for fundraising, communications, public relations and public affairs.  Prior to joining November Strategies, Prichard was Director of Development Communications at Northern Kentucky University.  She has covered Northern Kentucky as associate editor with The Sunday Challenger newspaper, and contributing writer for The Kentucky Post.  She covered statewide issues and politics as associate producer for Kentucky Educational Television.  In 2006, she scripted the Emmy-winning documentary Where the River Bends:  A History of Northern Kentucky, for KET.  Prichard is a free-lance writer and television host for the weekly public affairs program, Community Report, with the InterCommunity Cable Regulatory Commission, ICRC-TV, in Sharonville.

“People know Vicki Prichard and know that she is someone who can make things happen,” said November Strategies partner, Jeffrey Groob.  “With Vicki, we are adding talent and depth to our organization.”

“I’m excited to be part of this dynamic team at November Strategies and look forward to the good and important work we’re going to do together.” said Prichard.    “I’ve known Jeff, Kathy and Angie for some time and their political and business acuity is respected throughout Kentucky.”

November Strategies is a full-service political, non-profit and business consulting firm located in Covington.  Partners include Jeff and Kathy Groob and Angie Cain along with additional staff members and affiliates.  Clients include the Kentucky Democratic House Caucus, Governor Steve Beshear, Representatives Arnold Simpson, Dennis Keene, Royce Adams, Jeff Greer, Reginald Meeks, and a host of other local and regional candidates.

As Democrats head into what is expected to be a tough election year for them, the party says it has a solid lead over Republicans in one respect — its number of women candidates.

Seeking to ding the GOP on the issue, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is pointing to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC)’s “Young Guns” program, which provides support for Republicans challenging Democratic incumbents or running for open seats. There are more than 100 candidates in the program, and eight of them are women.

The DCCC’s comparable “Red to Blue” program includes 13 candidates, three of which are women. DCCC spokesperson Ryan Rudominer also highlighted the fact that Democrats have already elected a number of women into office. There are currently 78 female representatives in the House, and 61 are Democrats, according to the Office of History and Preservation for the House.

“We’ve elected so many strong female members that were in traditionally Republican districts,” Rudominer said. “They’re going to face tough re-elections — but there’s 102 candidates in the NRCC Young Guns program, and eight of those are women. I think that it speaks volumes about Republicans’ priorities…….

Still, the disproportionate number of male versus female candidates remains evident in both parties.

“There is much room for improvement in both parties for recruiting women candidates,” said Kathy Groob, a Kentucky businesswoman who publishes ElectWomen Magazine, and a former Democratic candidate for the state Senate. While the Democratic Party embraces female candidates, she said, it has relied on outside organizations dedicated to electing women, like Emily’s List, to provide the training and much of the support.

“Often out in the states you will find entrenched political party groups who continue to favor ‘establishment’ candidates and there are not many women in that category,” Groob added.

To read the full story, click here.

Today’s pantheon of African-American political talent begins with President Barack Obama, who rode into office on the strength of organized communities and an overwhelming black turnout. Add to the shining roster: Cory Booker, Rhodes Scholar and mayor of Newark, N.J.; Adrian Fenty, mayor of Washington, D.C.; Deval Patrick, Obama’s Harvard Law School classmate and current governor of Massachusetts; Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee; even Harold Ford Jr., the ingénue from a Tennessee political dynasty who recently scuttled plans to run for Senate in New York state. Ready to join the lineup: Rep. Kendrick Meek, the presumptive Democratic nominee for senator in Florida; and Artur Davis, the congressman from Montgomery gunning to be the first black governor of Alabama.

All of these young and charismatic men have seen an opening for broader political coalitions and bigger victories in the Obama era. But did the first black president open a space for women as well?

Filling Up the Pipeline

“We’ve got a long way to go,” says Jonathan Parker, political director for Emily’s List, a political action committee that supports pro-choice female candidates. But, he points out, “there were fewer women in Congress [30 years ago] than there are now from California alone.” This year, the Center for American Women in Politics has tracked hundreds of women running for office–with several standout women of color in the hunt.

Four black women are currently running in Alabama for the House seat being vacated by Davis. Emily’s List is supporting Terri Sewell, a Selma native who interviewed congressional pioneer Shirley Chisholm for her Princeton undergraduate thesis titled “Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come.” Parker calls Kamala Harris, front-runner for attorney general of California, “a superstar for the future.” Likewise, Robin Kelly is poised to win a seat for state treasurer in Illinois, with key backing from the political class in Chicago. Karen Bass, the first black female speaker in the California assembly, might inherit a seat held by Diane Watson, the retiring congresswoman and CBC member who first asked her to run.

It may seem that women are finally achieving parity in politics. In fact, there are a record 90 women in the 111th Congress–and 18 female senators. But not a single senator is a woman of color, and the body at large is not nearly representative of the women who make up 57 percent of the American electorate.

State and local races, however, are key to building the female political talent of the future. “The reason women in politics have been bottlenecked [is] because there has been less of a movement to draft women at the local level,” says Ayanna Pressley, an African-American woman who recently won a seat on Boston’s city council. “By recruiting on the municipal level, it will not only attract more women, but more diverse women. Because that’s where you find a lot of women of color activists in their community, who don’t even know they have the sharpened skills to run and win.”

Creating a Winning Candidate

Even when a promising woman with a free moment is asked to take a shot at elected office, few have the built-in skill set to win a statewide or even citywide race. Just ask Massachusetts attorney general (and recently failed Senate candidate) Martha Coakley. “If you can’t communicate your message in three minutes and do it in a compelling way, it’s difficult to get elected,” says Andrea Steele, a Democratic activist who founded Emerge America as a way to train women for elected office. “Martha Coakley is the perfect example.”

Nonprofits like Emerge, Emily’s List, the Barbara Lee Family Foundation and the White House Project are trying to change the math on women in politics. At Emerge, women train at local meet-ups one weekend a month, says Steele, to learn, “how to fundraise, how to put together a message … everything from how to hire a consultant to going through the nuts and bolts of governing.” Forty percent of their alumni are women of color, and 41 percent of all trainees eventually run. The Lee Foundation focuses on state houses and governorships–the historically proven route to the presidency. They offer female-oriented campaign advice on how to be “Not Too Tough, Not Too Soft,” or “Who comes First, Your Family or the Public.

To read the full article, visit:

http://madayo.com/2010/03/16/the-future-of-black-women-in-politics/

Running Start is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring young women and girls to run for political office. The goal is to increase the number of women in the United States who serve in elected office by planting the seed early that women are needed in politics. The application process for the 2010 program begins January 1, 2010.

Next July, selected high school girls will spend five days in Washington, D.C. learning about leadership and politics. The Young Women’s Political Leadership Program (YWPL) introduces high school girls to the importance of women in political leadership. The program begins with a five-day retreat in July where the girls participate in workshops led by experts in the field on public speaking, debate, messaging, networking, on-camera media training, and advocacy. Young women candidates and elected officials speak to the girls about what it is like to run as a young woman, how to get involved on a local level, and why they feel it is important to get more women elected.

The girls are in communication with Running Start several times during the year to follow up on program initiatives. The goal of the program is to encourage the girls to channel their leadership into politics.

For more information, e-mail: info@runningstartonline.org or visit the Running Start website at: http://www.runningstartonline.org.

Highly qualified women have declared their candidacy and are running for their state’s highest executive office.  Among the 29 female candidates, the top, most viable female gubernatorial candidates include:

Kim McMillan – D- Tennessee; former Tennessee State Representative, Majority Leader.

Kay Ivey – R- Alabama; Alabama state Treasurer 2002-present.

Jan Brewer* – R – Arizona; Incumbent Arizona Governor.

Meg Whitman – R- California; businesswoman.

Susan Bysiewicz – D Connecticut; current Connecticut Secretary of State.

Deb Markowitz* – D – Vermont; current Vermont Secretary of State.

Alex Sink – D – Florida; businesswoman and Florida Chief Financial Officer.

Karen Handel – R – Georgia; current Georgia Secretary of State.

Sharon Ullman – R- Idaho; current Ada County Commissioner.

Alma Wheeler Smith – D- Michigan; current State Representative from Michigan’s 54^th District.

Diane Denish – D – New Mexico; current New Mexico Lt. Governor.

Nikki Haley – R – South Carolina; current South Carolina State Representative.

Kay Bailey Hutchinson – R – Texas; current U.S. Senator from Texas.

Barbara Lawton – D – Wisconsin; current Wisconsin Lt. Governor.

Margaret Anderson Kelliher* – DFL – Minnesota; current Minnesota Speaker of the House.

Libby Mitchell*  – D – Maine; current President of the Maine Senate.

*Indicates primary challenge from other female(s) candidates.

Data courtesy of The Center for American Women and Politics.

“NOW PAC is proud to endorse Terri Sewell in her groundbreaking campaign.  We are confident she will be a strong leader in Congress for full equality for women and girls,” said NOW PAC Chair Terry O’Neill.

Sewell is a Selma native who works as an attorney in Birmingham.  She is the daughter of retired Coach Andrew A. Sewell and former City Councilwoman and retired librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell. Both of her parents held distinguished careers in the Selma public school system and taught Terri to believe in the power of education.  Terri became the first black valedictorian of Selma High School. Terri’s mother was the first black woman elected to the Selma City Council; Terri hopes to follow in her footsteps as the first black woman elected to Congress from the State of Alabama.

Just last week, Lilly Ledbetter, the woman who inspired the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Equity Act that was signed into law by President Obama earlier this year, endorsed Terri Sewell for Congress. “There are a lot of choices in the 7th district race, but Terri Sewell stands above the rest,” said Ledbetter.

The Democratic primary election day is June 1, 2010.  For more information or to contribute to Terri Sewell, visit: http://www.terrisewellforcongress.com/