Gender themes in state legislative candidates' websites

- In state legislative races candidate gender affects campaign issues.
- Compared to men, women candidates are more likely to campaign on women's issues.
- Candidates running against women candidates increase their use of women issues.
- Compared to Republicans, Democrats are more likely to campaign on women's issues.
- Candidate gender does not affect campaigning on men's issues.

Female candidates can represent women by campaigning on issues that have traditionally been the purview of women, and motivating their opponents to do likewise. Although recent research on gubernatorial and congressional elections has found relatively little difference between male and female candidates in their campaign issues, it is possible that greater differences could be found at the state level. This article examines the effects of state legislative candidates' sex and party and opponents' sex on whether candidates campaign on women's or men's issues. It does so by examining campaign websites in three states in 2012: Alaska, Colorado, and Minnesota. The article finds that female, and candidates with female opponents focus more on women's issues in their campaigns than do male candidates and those running against male candidates. In addition, it finds that although Democrats too are more likely to campaign on women's issues, party does not explain away the sex differences. Also as predicted, the article finds little sex difference in the degree to which candidates focus on men's issues, but Republicans are more likely to campaign on men's issues than are Democrats.