Stefanik credits Trump for spike in GOP women running for office

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) credited President Trump for the growing number of Republican women running for office in her address to the Republican National Convention on Wednesday. 

“Our support for President Trump is stronger than ever before,” Stefanik said from the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. “We know what’s at stake in this historic election. Americans from all walks of life are unified in support of our president. It’s why more Republican women than ever are running for office this year.”

“We understand that this election is a choice between the far-left Democratic Socialist agenda versus protecting and preserving the American Dream,” she added. 

The Republican Party has long been dominated by male leadership. However, that appears to be shifting. 

Data released in May by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University showed 195 Republican women running in House races this year. That’s up from a previous record of 133 during the Tea Party wave in 2010. The findings also showed an overall increase in women running for Congress in both parties. 

Stefanik, along with retiring Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), has led the charge in recruiting women to run under the banner of the GOP. 

The New York congresswoman launched the Elevate PAC last year after Democrats saw a groundswell of women elected to Congress in the 2018 midterm elections while the number of Republican women in the House declined.