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Woman of the Month
Background: Although she has never run for office before, Jennifer Lawless is no stranger to politics or the challenges women candidates face. As a professor at Brown University, she recently wrote a book, entitled It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office (Cambridge Press). The book is based on the first systematic, nationwide survey of 3,800 potential political candidates created by Lawless and her co-author, Richard Fox. She is also the lead author of a policy report used by EMILY’s List, Emerge, and theWomen’s Campaign School at Yale to recruit women candidates. When asked why she decided to run, Lawless explained, “As an educator, I spend every day speaking with students about the ways in which we can engage the political system and work to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard. The more I talk about the electoral system, however, the more obvious it becomes to me that our elections are becoming less democratic and less competitive. Our government was founded on the premise that running for and serving in elective office is the responsibility of any qualified citizen. Yet we now seem to have reached a time when money and ‘insider’ status are prerequisites for emerging as a candidate. When new people with fresh ideas do not enter political contests, deliberation and debate are muted, diversity among candidates is reduced, and democratic legitimacy is called into question.” She is challenging the three-term Democratic incumbent, James Langevin, in the primary. Langevin won the 2004 general election with 74% of the vote. The district votes very Democratic, so if Lawless were to win the primary, she would most likely win the general election. To donate to the Lawless campaign or to volunteer, go to www.lawlessforcongress.com
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