Why aren’t more moms running for office? One group is hoping to change that

Moms are a political force in voting but are underrepresented as candidates. In an interview with NPR, Batten School Professor Jennifer Lawless shares some ideas about that disparity.

A mom votes Vote Mama Foundation and the Vote Mama PAC, organizations dedicated to getting mothers, specifically Democrats, elected to public office.

“It’s critical that we are also teaching our children that running for office is just what moms do, that they should be civically engaged, that it’s fun, and that it’s easy,” Grechen Shirley said.

It’s a message that’s hard to get into the minds of women even now in 2022. This year, there are a record number of women who are nominees in races for governor and state legislatures, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Women — even more so those with young children — are still in the minority, Vote Mama’s research shows. This is despite the proven political power of mothers, University of Virginia a politics professor Jennifer Lawless said.

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