New Records for Women Candidates but Partisan Disparities Persist

Women have set new records for candidacies in the 2026 midterms, but disparities in women’s representation between Democrats and Republicans continue to stall progress, according to the latest election data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. There is a new record for women gubernatorial candidacies, and the record for women candidates for U.S. House is also on the verge of breaking, with the current number of filed candidates just three short of the record; this record could be broken following the delayed candidate filing deadline for the House in Louisiana on August 7th. There are also records for Democratic women in U.S. House and gubernatorial races.

CAWP will share details about our 2026 candidate data, alongside additional information about women in election 2026, at a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, July 21st at 1pm ET. This briefing will also provide data on gender and campaign finance, comparisons to previous election cycles, and trends we’re watching as we reach the midway point in the 2026 primaries.

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The numbers reported here reflect total major-party candidates, inclusive of women who have already won or lost primaries, as well as those with primaries still to come. They do not include candidates for non-voting positions in the U.S. House. These numbers can change because of late-filing candidates, withdrawals, or other reasons; visit our 2026 Summary of Women Candidates page for the most up-to-date numbers.

New records below are bolded and asterisked*.

• U.S. House: 580 (397D*, 183R) women are major-party candidates for House. The record is 583, first set in 2020.
  • The previous record for Democratic women House candidates was 356, first set in 2018; 301 Democratic women ran for the House in 2024.
  • The record for Republican women House candidates is 261, set in 2022; 166 Republican women ran for the House in 2024.
• U.S. Senate: 64 (32D, 32R) women are major-party candidates for Senate. The record is 70, set in 2022.
  • The record for Democratic women Senate candidates is 37, set in 2020; 29 Democratic women ran for Senate in 2024.
  • The record for Republican women Senate candidates is 38, set in 2022; 21 Republican women ran for Senate in 2024.
• Governor: 85* (51D*, 34R) women are major-party candidates for governor across 36 states. The number of states with gubernatorial races varies by cycle. The previous record was 69, set in 2022 when there were 36 gubernatorial races.
  • The previous record for Democratic women gubernatorial candidates was 41, set in 2018. (There were 36 gubernatorial races in 2018.)
  • The record for Republican women gubernatorial candidates is 37, set in 2022. (There were 36 gubernatorial races in 2022.)

Data for women candidates by race and ethnicity

Because multiracial women are included in counts for each group with which they identify, adding the numbers below will not yield the total number of women of color running for various offices in this year’s contests.

• Asian American/Pacific Islander women have not set new records as candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, or governor in 2026.
  • U.S. House: 39 (29D, 10R). The record is 40, set in 2020.
  • U.S. Senate: 2 (1D, 1R). The record is 3, first met in 2006.
  • Governor: 5 (5R). This matches the record, first set in 2020.
• Black women have not set new records as candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, or governor in 2026.
  • U.S. House: 112 (94D, 18R). The record is 134, set in 2022.
  • U.S. Senate: 14 (11D, 3R). The record is 22, set in 2022.
  • Governor: 10 (7D, 3R). The record is 12, set in 2022.
• Latina/Hispanic women have not set new records as candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, or governor in 2026.
  • U.S. House: 85 (51D, 34R). This matches the record, first set in 2022.
  • U.S. Senate: 3 (2D, 1R). The record is 4, set in 2024.
  • Governor: 5 (4D, 1R). The record is 6, set in 2022.
• Middle Eastern/North African women candidates for the U.S. House are lower in 2026 than in 2024. Our data collection on MENA women begins in 2018, limiting our ability to make historical comparisons.
  • U.S. House: 11 (7D, 4R). 12 Middle Eastern/North African women ran for House in 2024.
  • U.S. Senate: 0. Zero Middle Eastern/North African woman ran for Senate in 2024.
  • Governor: 0.
• Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women candidates remain low in 2026, but the number of Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women running for governor is notably high. Historical comparisons are difficult due to CAWP’s expansion of coding in this category. CAWP added Alaska Native as a category of self-identification in our data collection starting in 2019 and Native Hawaiian as a category for self-identification in our data collecting starting in 2021, limiting our ability to report historical information about these specific groups of women.
  • U.S. House: 9 (6D, 3R). In 2024, 9 Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women were major-party candidates for the U.S. House.
  • U.S. Senate: 3 (3D). In 2024, 2 Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women were major-party candidates for the U.S. Senate.
  • Governor: 7 (6D, 1R). In 2022, when the same number of gubernatorial seats were up for election, 4 Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women were major-party candidates for Governor.
• White women have set new records as candidates for U.S. Senate and Governor in 2026.
  • U.S. House: 339 (221D, 118R). The record is 350, set in 2020.
  • U.S. Senate: 43* (16D, 27R). The previous record was 42, set in 2020.
  • Governor: 60* (31D, 29R). The previous record was 49, set in 2022.
• In addition to these women candidates, 6 (3D, 3R) woman candidates for the U.S. House and two (2D) women candidates for governor have self-identified as multiracial alone and are not included in race-specific counts above.
• Racial identification is also not available for 1 (1R) woman candidate for the U.S. Senate, 12 (6D, 6R) women candidates for the U.S. House, and 4 (1D, 3R) women candidates for governor. Our counts will change if this information becomes available.

To see this data compared to previous election cycles and in data visualizations, visit the 2026 Summary of Women Candidates page on the CAWP website. This page will update as new information becomes available. Join our briefing on women in the 2026 midterm elections by registering here.