Political Ambition and Women in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1916-2000

Abstract

This analysis demonstrates how political ambition theory can be applied to women who have served in the U.S. House of Representatives: under what conditions do political women manifest discrete, static, and progressive ambition? Our database includes all women elected to the House between 1916 and 2000. In differentiating between discrete and static ambition, we find that among congressional widows, there are measurable differences between those who seek reelection and those that step down, with independent political experience and working partnerships in their husband’s political careers being especially important. In addition, we show that women in the House are strategic when deciding whether to run for the Senate. Progressive ambition—the decision to run for higher office—flows from a calculus that incorporates the probability of winning, the value of the office, and the costs of running. As such, it appears that the women of the House respond to the same strategic forces as their male counterparts.