Spectrum

There are only two black women in the nation who hold statewide elective executive offices, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. Spectrum wants to know why. Although there are numerous women of color elected to state and federal legislative offices, the numbers don’t translate to statewide executive offices, according to Dr. Kira Sanbonmatsu, senior scholar at the Center for American for American Women in Politics. She points to several reasons for this paucity of statewide public officeholders of color. First, she says legislative districts are usually more minority based than statewide populations – therefore, making it easier to win in a select district. Secondly, she notes that black women may have fewer campaign resources available than white women and men, thereby limiting spending amounts in campaigns. Also, the majority of black women candidates are Democrats, according to Sanbonmatsu, and Republicans recently have been making greater strides in controllin