Kira Sanbonmatsu focuses on gender in state elections. She examines the presence and performance of women who ran for the state legislatures and statewide executive offices in 2022 and 2024, analyzes the reasons for the underrepresentation of women in these offices, and highlights changes in women’s candidacies in recent years. The chapter also investigates the factors driving variation across states in women’s officeholding and assesses the status of women of color and LGBTQ+ women as candidates in state elections. Sanbonmatsu also includes analysis of the role certain issues, particularly abortion rights, play in state elections. Understanding why women have not fared better in the states is critical to understanding women’s status in electoral politics and their prospects for achieving parity in higher office in the future.

Erin C. Cassese and Yueshan Long document gender differences in public opinion and vote choice. They provide evidence of the emergence and trajectory of the gender gap in vote choice over time and in the most recent elections but demonstrate how the influence of gender is variable and contingent on other voter characteristics such as race, class, geography, and party. Cassese and Long outline common theoretical explanations for the gender gap and situate the American gap in global perspective. Shifting their attention from cause to effect, Cassese and Long explore how beliefs about women and men voters – including social constructions of key voting groups – shape campaign strategy and political communications. They evaluate the specific appeals to women and men voters in the 2024 presidential election, with particular attention to the influence of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in voter mobilization.

The writing of this book, planning its structure, shaping its content, investigating details, have been an Odyssey for its author. The journey has been an exciting one, for it is always exciting and informative to investigate the beginnings and early development of any phenomenon, whether it be of material things or in the world of ideas, and coinage is no exception. The ‘little round things’ that we carry (still, just about) in our purses in some respects resemble their earliest ancestors, not least in their generally round shape and in the images they present to the user. But from the time of their first appearance, coins, and the ways they functioned in the societies in which they moved, have undergone a long history of development and change, and there are many questions posed by aspects of their origins and early use, starting from the fundamental ‘Why coins?’

Jamil Scott places 2024 election outcomes in the context of the history of Black women in US electoral politics. She begins by evaluating the trends in Black women’s representation across levels of office, including changes as a result of the most recent election. Scott then describes Black women’s relationship with the Democratic Party, explaining how Black women’s support to the party has not been reciprocated in party support of Black women’s leadership or in prioritization of their policy concerns. She analyzes gender differences in voting behavior among Black voters, as well as generational differences among Black women voters, with particular attention to the 2024 election. Scott concludes her chapter by offering both historical and contemporary evidence of Black women’s crucial role in the fight for democracy. She argues that Black women will continue this fight but questions whether they will look to gender-based coalitions as a fruitful site for engagement.

Gabriele Magni examines the experiences of LGBTQ+ women running for office at various levels. Tracing the historical evolution of these candidacies from the 1970s all the way to 2024, the analysis shows how the number of LGBTQ+ women running for office has increased over time and how the group has grown more diverse along gender identity, race, and ethnicity. The chapter then explores the challenges that LGBTQ+ women face when running for office, highlighting both similarities and differences with straight, cisgender women as well as male candidates. Subgroup analysis then reveals how transgender women and LGBTQ+ women of color face heightened obstacles. The analysis also shows that, despite the challenges, cisgender lesbian women often perform at least as well as their straight, cisgender counterparts in elections. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the factors that can help increase and improve the political representation of LGBTQ+ women.