In It to Win

When will the United States elect its first woman president? Many political observers believed that Hillary Clinton would win the White House in 2008, and many still believe she is a strong contender for 2016. Yet, while many believe that electing the first woman president is not a question of if, but who and when, media speculation on the topic has yet to move it from an interesting talking point to political reality. The question remains: Just how close are we to breaking this final political glass ceiling? By merging the two literatures of women and politics (especially women as candidates) and presidential campaigns and elections, a winning strategy for women candidates can emerge by analyzing what political science research tells us from past campaigns and what we can expect in the future.