Iowa has never elected a woman to Congress or for Governor

[hfojvt]

:wow: I just heard that on PBS. How many states is that true for? South Dakota and Wyoming sent women to Congress a long, long time ago. Kansas currently has a woman Governor and a woman in the House. I know that the first woman elected to Congress in Wisconsin was Tammy Baldwin in 1998 (and that was a slam dunk because her first opponent was Jo (JoAnne) Musser.)

[kurth]

1. Iowa and Mississippi

However, Iowa was a pioneer in civil rights for blacks:

http://state29.blogspot.com/2005/07/iowa-is-second-worst-for-blacks-part.html

And Iowa State named their football stadium after their first black athlete, Jack Trice.

[petersjo02]

7. Trice was targeted by the opposing team

because he was black. They hurt him deliberately and fatally. Trice died after his first and only start as a football player for Iowa State. His diary reflected how excited he was to play that first game. Sad story.

[kurth]

10. Yep, trampled by University of Minnesota players

Thousands of Iowans came out for his funeral.

[Hardrada]

2. Nor female senators.

We have lots of lady judges though and state reps too.

[Debi]

4. I'm so glad posters from other states keep pointing this out to us

I wonder if they know the circumstances for each race that a woman who ran didn't win the election (running as a Democrat in a conservative district, running against an incumbent Governor or Member of Congress).

[hfojvt]

6. I think there was a woman running in my district in 2000

(Mason City) It's not that conservative of a district. In 2000, it went to Gore by 60-40, and then oddly enough also went to Nussle by about 60-40.

[Debi]

13. The (former) Second District of Iowa had about 20,000 more registered

republicans in it than registered Democrats. Also, Nussle was a 5-term incumbent representing Cerro Gordo County all of those ten years AND that race was Donna Smith's second run against Nussle. Nussle won the election a 30,000 vote margin.

[Breeze54]

3. Jeannette Rankin of Montana - Suffragist & peace activist & First woman to serve in Congress - 1917

Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a suffragist and peace activist,
and the first woman to serve in Congress, delivers her first full
speech on the House Floor on August 7, 1917.


Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts presides over the House Chamber in this image from 1926.

Since 1917, when Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman to serve in Congress, 243 more women have served as U.S. Representatives or Senators. This Web site, based on the book Women in Congress, 1917–2006, contains biographical profiles of former women Members of Congress, links to information about current women Members, essays on the institutional and national events that shaped successive generations of Congresswomen, and images of each woman Member, including rare photos.

Continue reading: http://womenshistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=womenshistory&cdn=education&tm=30&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//bioguide.congress.gov/congresswomen/chrono.asp

[kansasblue]

5. Nebraska had two women run for Governor

http://www.nebpress.com/700/korr.php

Kay Stark Orr

(1939- ) lives in Lincoln. Politician, first female governor of Nebraska and the first elected Republican woman governor in American history.

In the 1986 election she defeated former Lincoln Mayor Helen Boosalis in the first U.S. gubernatorial election in which both major party candidates were women.

[petersjo02]

8. Iowa had a female in the governor's race in early '80s

Roxanne Conlin, a wonderful candidate. The Republicans, of course, lead by their candidate, Terry Branstad (or Bumstead or Braindead as he has also been known), succeeded in digging up something about some taxes they claimed Conlin and her husband didn't pay or pay enough or something like that. It killed her candidacy. She is a successful attorney in Des Moines. Recently won a class action suit against Microsoft for overcharging for their products.

[Debi]

14. She didn't pay any state taxes and only minimal Federal taxes by

taking advantage of tax shelters that she was denouncing in her campaign (and it's not like the info was 'dug up' the race was in 1982 and the disclosure was from her 1981 taxes).

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0DE3D91439F933A15754C0A964948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print

Roxanne is a great attorney and womens' advocate, but she should have been honest with the party about her finances.

[NewHampster]

9. First time for everything

[Debi]

16. Yep, we have several qualified women in elected office right now

it is only a matter of time before we have a member of Congress or Governor who is female.

[terryg11]

11. so what?!?

it's only a matter of time before we do. We have plenty of women in voted office.

[Breeze54]

12. The time is now and it's over due! That's what's "so what" !!

You Iowa people need to work on those prejudiced men AND women where you live and get them out
of their old time thinking and their old ways! It's time for Iowa to get with the rest of the nation!!

[Debi]

15. "You Iowa people" ?

Maybe us 'Iowa people' will vote for the person we think is best suited for the office rather than voting solely on their gender.

Thanks for the advice all the same.

[youthere]

17. I notice people also fail to mention that our last two lt. governors have been female...

But whatever. I guess we're supposed to vote for the genitalia.

[Debi]

18. That makes me laugh - thinking of the Culver/Nussle race

:rofl:

[Critters2]

22. Iowa hasn't had a Mormon governor yet, either.

What's your point?

[Apollo11]

19. Thanks for the info

Sorry if some Iowans here on DU seem to be taking this the wrong way.

Nobody is saying that Iowa is the most backward State in the Union or anything like that.

But it shows that we still have a long way to go before we can say that women and men are equal in America.

[haroldgiowa]

20. Looking at the numbers.

This appears not to be just an Iowa issue. Every election year there are 468 elections held for Congress and only 243 women won an election out of 20,000+ elections.

[Pirate Smile]

21. Yep, if Hillary doesn't win, it is because Iowa hates women

or it is because Iowa lets college students vote. Why do they have to follow those silly Supreme Court rulings?

Damn you, Iowa!!!








;-)