Women Set New Records for Candidacies in 2026, Data Shows

Women are setting new candidacy records across several 2026 midterm races, according to fresh data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. 

Women have already set a new record for gubernatorial candidacies this cycle, with 85 women running as major-party candidates for governor across 36 states, breaking the previous mark of 69 set in 2022. That total includes 51 Democratic women, itself a new record surpassing the 41 set in 2018, the data shows.

White women also set new records in two categories this cycle, with 43 running for Senate and 60 running for governor, both surpassing prior highs, according to the data from CAWP, which tracks women’s political participation in the U.S.

The number of women running for House seats is also nearing an all-time record, with 580 filed as major-party candidates – just three short of the all-time record of 583 set in 2020. Of that group, 397 are Democratic women, a new record that breaks the previous high of 356 set in 2018. That number could still climb given Louisiana’s delayed candidate filing deadline on Aug. 7.

Republican women’s House candidacies, meanwhile, sit at 183, short of the party’s own record of 261 set in 2022.

Partisan and Demographic Gaps Remain

Despite the overall gains, CAWP’s data points to persistent disparities. Women’s Senate candidacies overall remain short of the 70-candidate record set in 2022, with women splitting evenly between the parties at 32 Democratic and 32 Republican candidates.

Women of color have also largely not matched prior highs this cycle. Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black and Latina women have not set new records in House, Senate or gubernatorial candidacies this year, according to CAWP, while Black women’s House candidacies – now at 112 – remain well below the 2022 record of 134, and their Senate candidacies trail the 2022 record of 22.

Middle Eastern and North African women running for the House also declined slightly, with 11 candidates this cycle compared with 12 in 2024, though CAWP notes its data collection on this group only goes back to 2018, limiting historical comparisons.

Native American, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian women’s candidacies remain low across most offices, though CAWP flagged a notably high number running for governor this cycle, at seven candidates.