The first quarterly fundraising deadline is coming up March 31, and there are five women on the DCCC’s newly updated “Frontline” incumbents list who need our help now to post competitive numbers.

The list is discouraging news overall for women’s representation in Congress: More than half of the most-vulnerable Democrats on the list are women. By contrast, 76 percent of Republican challengers to these incumbents are men. 

But there’s good news too: Women on the DCCC’s “Frontline” incumbents list are raising slightly more on average compared to their male counterparts ($2.2 million to $2.1 million) … but still have less cash on hand ($2.5 million to $3.1 million). These amounts reflect an analysis of fundraising totals for calendar year 2021 based on FEC data from OpenSecrets.

So we’ve updated our Most Vulnerable Incumbents slate with five candidates who are either 1) behind in fundraising or 2) facing Republicans who are posting the biggest hauls:

• Rep. Jahana Hayes, representing CT-5, is an educator and the first Black woman to be elected to Congress from her state. She is one of the few “Frontline” Democrats who raised less than $1 million in 2021. FiveThirtyEight has this race at D+3.
  
• Rep. Dina Titus, elected in 2012, is the second woman to ever represent Nevada in Congress. She also has not crossed the $1 million mark and FiveThirtyEight says this race could also be close at D+4.
  
• Rep. Marcy Kaptur of OH-9 is the longest-serving woman in Congress and is, again, one of the few “Frontline” Democrats who hasn’t raised over $1 million. FiveThirtyEight has this race at R+6.
  
• Rep. Sharice Davids of KS-3 is one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and is the first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Kansas. She is in one of the most competitive races this cycle according to FiveThirtyEight (R+3) and has raised $2.8 million per her last FEC filing. Her likely GOP challenger, Amanda Adkins, has one of the highest GOP fundraising totals on the DCCC list.
  
• Rep. Angie Craig is in one of the most competitive races this cycle according to FiveThirtyEight (D+1). She is the first openly lesbian mother to be elected to Congress, the first woman to be elected in MN-2, and the first openly gay person elected to Congress from Minnesota. She’s raised $2.6 million per her last FEC filing. Her likely GOP challenger, Tyler Kistner, has one of the highest GOP fundraising feats on the DCCC list.

Give $5 or more to these women now and help set the tone for their races this year.

Thanks, 

Grace Haley, Research Director
WomenCount & Electing Women

Grace Haley is the new Research Director for WomenCount and the Electing Women Alliance. Her research will focus on identifying trends among women donors, challenges that fundraising presents for underrepresented candidates, and the variables that create obstacles for women, especially women of color, to lead successful campaigns. She previously was the gender and race researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics/OpenSecrets and a freelancer with ProPublica and the Associated Press.