A majority of women believe male candidates have an advantage when it comes to running for public office, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.
In the survey released on Thursday, 65 percent of female voters said men seeking political office have a competitive edge compared to other demographics. Another 5 percent of female respondents said male candidates actually face a political disadvantage, while 30 percent said they have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.
Overall, 60 percent of respondents said male candidates have the upper hand, compared to 8 percent who thought otherwise.
Though a number of female candidates have since dropped out, the survey comes amid a record number of female Democrats running for president.
There are currently four female candidates seeking the Democratic nomination: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a top-tier candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and author Marianne Williamson.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) dropped out of the race in December after months of low polling numbers and lack of sufficient campaign funds. The move came nearly four months after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) ended her own presidential bid after similarly struggling to gain traction among voters.
But this wave of women candidates is nothing new. The 2018 midterm elections were dubbed the “Year of the Woman,” after more than 100 women were elected into the House. This record number included some firsts, including the first Muslim women — Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Illhan Omar (D-Minn.) — to ever be elected into Congress.
The Hill-HarrisX survey was conducted among 1,004 registered voters nationwide. It has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
—Tess Bonn
hilltv copyright