West Virginia has the nation’s lowest percentage of female lawmakers in the statehouse, where lawmakers are considering bills on access to child care, reproductive rights and equal pay.
There are only 16 women in the state’s 134-member legislature.
Based on the results of the May primary, the number could fluctuate as more or fewer women are represented in the Senate and House of Representatives. Dozens of women are vying for seats, but many are Democrats who could face an uphill battle in the election campaign red state.
The House of Representatives is currently projected to lose four women, including Del. Heather Tully, R-Nicholas, and Del. Diana Wizenreid, R-Ohio, lost her May 14 primary for the Republican nomination to men.
Two other female members of the House of Representatives, Del. Amy Summers, R-Taylor, and Del. Diana Warner, R-Monongalia, did not run for re-election. Their primaries were won by male candidates.
Of the four districts, only Tully’s district has a female candidate on the November ballot; Jean Nutter is running as a Democrat.
Sarah Drennan is a Republican hoping to win the seat currently held by Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, holds the seat. Foster is not seeking re-election.
Drennan, 43, is a mother of two boys. She defeated Jacob Losh in the District 20 primary for the Republican nomination and will face Democratic challenger Steve Patrick this fall.
“My kids motivated me,” said Drennan, who lives in Winfield.
“I look at where our state is going right now and I don’t want my children to have to leave the state to find good jobs and raise their families,” she continued. “We have grown a lot in the last few years and hope to do even more and expand the industry.”
There are only four women in the 34-member Senate, a body that passed one of the strictest in the country in 2022 Abortion bans.
Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, narrowly won her primary against Paul Espinosa, a House member who was trying to enter the Senate.
She won by 230 votes to one race she described it as “ugly.”
“I am one of only four female senators and was particularly targeted in a very tough primary,” said Rucker, a mother of five.
Rucker was a two-term senator first elected in 2016 championed School choice and anti-abortion legislation. This year she sponsored one The invoice The aim was to counteract the worsening of the condition Childcare desert; Their legislation was never brought up for consideration.
“I’m obviously happy with the election results… In most cases [Senate] I am the only female voice on committees, and that is important,” she said.
Women are seeking state House seats this November
The proportion of women in statehouses across the country remains low, according to the Associated Press reported. Women running in conservative Southern states — typically Democrats — are still struggling to win their elections in red states.
In November, 32 women will seek to enter the West Virginia Statehouse, joining a handful of women running as incumbents.
Twenty-one of those challenger candidates are Democrats, and most of them are vying for House seats.
Del. Mike Pushkin, chairman of the West Virginia Democratic Party, attributed the number to that of the Supreme Court Decision To Roe v. Wade and the subsequent ban on reproductive rights in states.
“Women are engaged, they are engaged and we look forward to seeing them take back seats in their House of Representatives and throughout state government,” said Pushkin, D-Kanawha.
Lucia Valentine, 27, hopes to defeat incumbent Del. Bill Ridenour, R-Jefferson, represents the 97th District.
A lobbyist for them West Virginia Environmental Council, She has identified a gap in the representation of women and teenage people in the state parliament.
“The Legislature has addressed these issues that affect our state and our bodies. Young people and women should have a seat at the table,” said Valentine, who lives in Martinsburg.
With a platform focused on increasing teacher pay, securing access to tidy air and restoring reproductive freedom, Valentine hopes she will turn the growing Eastern Panhandle blue.
“We need people who are willing to be creative and get involved [and] to have new leadership styles,” she said. “I am focused on working across party lines and finding common ground with everyone in my district.”
Rucker said she faces a tough election in November against John Doyle, a Democrat who previously served in the House.
She wants to focus on the state’s opioid recovery and remediation efforts omnipresent problems in the state child welfare system.
“I hope to continue to serve,” she said. “I think it’s important that women are represented.”
