In attempting to provide a new insight into the causal factors influencing the representation of southern women in legislative politics, the purpose of this examination is to "break" from the traditional norms of the political science elite.  In doing so, this examination will provide new insight into why women remain a minority in legislative politics.  The thesis of this paper is that party recruitment, unlike widows succession, has been the causal factor influencing the low representation of southern women in legislative office.  Additionally, party recruitment will be used to discredit the commonly discussed theme of "widows succession" in explaining the low representation of southern female legislators.

                                                              INTRODUCTION

    Indeed, one of the most fascinating phenomenons in congressional history is the fact that women are disproportionately represented in legislative politics (Lee, 1976; Bledsoe, 1990).  While voters are electing more women to legislative office, many feminist scholars have been less than enthusiastic with the increase of female legislators.  Congressional scholars alike have conducted abundant research on gender politics, but they have not adequately examined the representation of females in legislative politics. In this lack of scholarly efficiency, many researchers have easily asserted their personal and political biases into their work. By disregarding factors influencing legislative representation, we have failed to find a solution to the gender gap in legislative politics.  In researching the gender gap in American politics, most political scientists have controlled for two separate variables--south and non-south--when analyzing the representation of women in legislative politics, which gives the researcher a better idea of the impact  regional characteristics have on legislative politics (Nuwer, 2000).  However, most congressional scholars have assumed southern women have been hindered by widows succession and other matrimonial connections.  By limiting their research to widows succession, scholars have failed to account for influences such as the widow's successsful bid for the "seat" after her husband's term has expired or the effect of party structure and dominance on legislative politics.  While many scholars support the theory of widows succession, party recruitment, unlike widows succession, is the dominant causal factor influencing the representation of southern women in current legislative politics.

               HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF SOUTHERN WOMEN IN LEGISLATIVE OFFICE

    "Widows succession," which refers to a female who is appointed to her husband's elected office upon his death, has fascinated many congressional scholars since the first documented case of widows succession in 1923 (Gertzog, 1980).  According to political scientist Sue Thomas (1994), existing research provides limited insight into the impact women have in congressional politics.  With a limited number of women serving in the U.S. Congress and state legislatures, Thomas suggests researchers have tended to focus on women's participation in politics, rather than the reasons why they have entered the "political arena."  Political scientist Deanne Nuwer (2000) points out that as the data have become available to academia, congressional scholars have been eager to analyze these factors as they influence who attains legislative office.  In researching the various ways women have entered the United States Congress, political scientists have documented two main entries into the United States Congress, which are election or appointment to office.  Appointment to office can further be divided into two subcategories, which are appointment to fill a legislative vacancy or widows succession, which is the appointment of a widow to her husband's elected seat.  In the event a legislator dies while in office, his widow is the most likely replacement until a "special election" can be called, which could take from a month to several months to be called.

    While widows succession is a fascinating topic for congressional scholars, widows succession has never been a mandate in the political world.  As political scientist Irwin Gertzog (1980) argues, from 1916-1976, three hundred and sixty-four representatives died while in office.  However, of those three hundred and sixty-four representatives, only one out of seven spouses succeeded their husbands in office.  With the few times women have succeeded their husbands in office, it is rightful to assume that widows succession has never been a mandate or a hindrance for southern women in legislative politics.  As Sue Thomas (1994) argues, however, congressional scholars have often had to deal with existing data, which gave them little, if any, insight into how women entered congressional politics.  Therefore, scholars were forced to draw conclusions from the research they were able to obtain, which in most cases, widows succession was the most frequently distributed data among the academia.  While the political science academia have been unable to obtain sufficient data on the causal factors influencing the representation of southern female legislators, scholars currently have more resources to draw theories from.  Therefore, it is rightful to assume new theories will be devised as more data becomes available to congressional scholars.

    Even though widows have been appointed to succeed their husbands in office, other factors influence who will be appointed to fill legislative vacancies (Gertzog, 1980).  Other factors influencing appointment to a vacant seat, include: party dominance, the electoral make-up of the district, the electoral strength of the deceased legislator, and the likely challengers to the legislative seat.  As congressional researcher Anna Holli argues, various factors not only influence the success of female legislators, but the probability widows have of appointment to their husbands' legislative seats.  For instance, the party dominance and electoral make-up of the district play an integral role in the appointment of a widow to her husband's elected position.  When assessing the chances of winning the legislative seat in the next election, a political party will evaluate their influence within the district (1).  There is some controversy in the field regarding whether a political party will appoint a widow to a "safe" or "unsafe" seat.  As Roger Cooperman and Bruce Oppenheimer (2001) suggest, some scholars believe that political parties will appoint widows if the seat is "safe" for the party.  On the other hand, Deanne Nuwer (2000) points out that other scholars believe political parties will appoint widows if the district is considered to be an unsafe seat.  Regardless of the political parties' intentions, by appointing the widow to succeed her husband in office, many political scientists believe political parties will avoid potential inter party squabbles over who will fill the vacant seat.  Moreover, the political party may be seen by the electorate in a favorable light by appointing the widow to her husband's legislative seat.  By appointing a widow to her husband's legislative seat upon his death, political parties may be seen by the electorate as willing to allow more women into congressional politics.

                                 A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF EXISTING RESEARCH

    As many feminist scholars have concluded, matrimonial connections have had a detrimental effect on the representation of southern women in legislative politics.  By usually having no prior political experience to draw financial and electoral support from, southern widows have been regarded as a hindrance to the feminist movement and to the increased representation of southern women in legislative politics.  As Deanne Nuwer (2000) and other feminist scholars have argued, southern widows tend to be viewed by the electorate as being ineffective legislators. Widows succession, according to many scholars, gives the electorate reason to doubt the viability of widows in the legislative arena. By usually having weak or virtually no bases of political support, political scientists believe widows succession further defines what a southern woman is, and how she is to be defined by society.  This, in turn, has caused a constant turnover in the representation of women in legislative office.    By 1976, half of the congresswomen to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives were widows.  Moreover, 73% of all female U.S. Senators in 1976 came to the Senate through widows succession.  However, as Hope Chamberlin (1973) notes, the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress was Representative Jeanette Rankin (R-MO), who was elected twice to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916, and then again in 1926.  While there have been a number of women who have either been appointed to a legislative seat, or have come to Congress through widows succession, history will recall the first woman to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives as being the first woman to also be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress.  To her credit, Representative Rankin's tenure in the U.S. Congress can be hailed as a leading precedent in the women's movement.

    While men out-number women in election to legislative office, widows succession seems to be less relevant in today's southern politics.  If widows succession were of any relevance in today's southern politics, we would see a noticeable increase, or at a minimum, continuation in the number of widows appointed to office.  However, the data suggest women are being elected on their own merit, rather than being appointed to fill the vacant seats left by their deceased husbands.  For instance, of the current thirteen female U.S. Senators, eleven were elected to their current congressional positions.  Only two female senators serving in the 107th Congress have been appointed to their legislative seats.  In the 107th Congress, the first female senator to be appointed to a legislative seat was Senator Kay Bailey Huchinson (R-TX), who was appointed to fill the vacant seat of a resigning Senator in 1993.  However, Senator Huchinson was not appointed through widows succession, but was appointed by Governor Ann Richardson (D-TX) to fill a vacant seat in the state's national delegation.  Since her appointment to the U.S. Senate, Senator Huchinson has won election to the U.S. Senate twice, in 1994 and again in 2000.  Conversely, Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MO) is the only current female U.S. Senator who has been appointed through widows succession.  Appointed in 2001, Senator Carnahan was appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of her husband, Mel Carnahan, who passed away shortly before the 2000 elections ("Senate," 1; "Women," 2).

                            ANALYSIS OF THE RECRUITMENT OF SOUTHERN WOMEN

    While various factors influence who will be appointed to fill the vacancy of a deceased legislator, party recruitment has been the leading causal factor influencing who will be appointed to a vacant legislative seat.  Political scientist Leo Snowiss (1966) argues Though party recruitment has been a leading factor in the political gender gap, researchers have been unwilling to examine this issue in great detail.  Perhaps, this lack of enthusiasm can be accredited to insufficient data, or to a deeper, more personal bias in favor of feminist culture.  Regardless of the reasons, party recruitment has not received sufficient care by the political science elite.  However, the effect party recruitment has on the gender gap in American politics is undeniable.

    Scholars have often lacked scholarly efficiency when examining the reasons for the gender gap in American politics  As Irwin Gertzog (1980) suggests, current political parties use a different set of criteria in assessing potential successors to vacant seats.  With an increase in emphasis on professional training for campaigns and the political experience of candidates, political parties will continue to use restrictive sets of criteria for nominating candidates for legislative office.  While political parties may avoid potential problems in the party and district by nominating a widow to fill a legislative vacancy, there is no guarantee that the widow would be an asset to the political party.  Essentially, political parties will assess their advantages and disadvantages when appointing candidates.  Therefore, if a political party sees no incentive to appoint the widow to the seat, parties will be less inclined to do so. As political scientist Thomas Murphy (1974) argues, widows have been viewed as convenient, or non-controversial for political parties because there will be less tension among party elites to nominate someone to fill the vacant seat, as well as, draw support from the constituency in the next election.  However, there is no conclusive evidence to support political parties' nomination of widows for an indefinite period of time.  Essentially, many scholars have concluded political parties will appoint a widow to the vacant seat until a replacement can be found and a "special election" called.  For instance, the first female to serve in the U.S. Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton, who was appointed to replace a deceased Senator.  However, Felton only served one day when a special election was held and the successor to office was elected.   Therefore, political parties seem to not have much faith in the ability of widows to successfully govern as their husbands did.

    While political parties are less than enthusiastic about nominating widows to vacant seats, political parties seem unwilling to nominate any group of women to legislative office.  This lack of enthusiasm stems from various factors, including: the reproductive responsibilities of women, the perception of the woman's role in society but, most importantly, the views of the electorate.  Foremost, the reproductive responsibilities of women restrict the potential list of candidates to legislative office.  Since women are the primary caretakers of children, it is noteworthy to examine the age women are nominated to run for legislative office.  As political scientist Marcia Manning Lee (1976) stated, women who have one or more children at home are significantly less likely (53 percent) to seek nomination to run for legislative office.  Since a female assumes caretaking responsibilties of her children, political parties are skeptical of her priorities, whether those priorities are with her family or in pursuit of office.  Secondly, the perception of the woman's role in society also hinders the ability of political parties to nominate women for legislative office.  The perception of the woman's role in society has decreased dramatically in recent years.  However, men and women still view the woman's place as being in the home, or she is at least primarily responsible for the rearing of the children (Darcy, 1977).  According to a 1975-76 Gallup Poll, only nine percent of the electorate believe women do not belong politics (Gallup Opinion Index, 1976:7).  If the electorate does not approve of a woman in politics, political parties may rightfully assume there is no incentive in nomintating women to run for legislative office.  If political parties have nothing to gain from nominating women to run for office

    More importantly, political parties are sensitive to the views of the electorate.  If the electorate does not have faith in the leadership of female representatives, political parties will be less willing to recruit women candidates to legislative office.  Since women candidates have an easier time gaining recognition (Stokes, 1962; Tolchin, 1973), Philip Converse (1962) believes women candidates have an advantage over their male counterparts in gaining public recognition.  However, the ease of which women gain public recognition does not equate with electoral success.  As Leo Snowiss (1966) suggests, women do not face direct discrimination by the political parties, but by the electorate.  For various reasons, women are not fully accepted by the electorate as legitimate lawmakers.  As Congresswoman Martha Keys asserted, "Women are perceived as not being part of the power structure" (Darcy, 1977, p. 3).  For instance, women usually occupy traditional female jobs, including: nurse, secretary, and teacher.  As a result, many voters believe women do not have the skills necessary to be effective legislators, which could, in part, explain why so few women have been elected to legislative office (Darcy, 1977).

                                                                  CONCLUSION

    While congressional scholars begin to examine the ways southern women enter congressional politics, female legislators will continue to be of interest to the political science elite.  Since the "birth" of widows succession in 1923, political scientists have documented two main entries women have used to enter congressional politics, which are appointment or election to office.  Due to the plethora of implications they have on congressional politics, the subgroups of appointment to legislative office--appointment and widows succession--have been of particular interest to congressional scholars.  Appointment to legislative office, especially widows succession, has been regarded as the primary influence of the gender gap in southern legislative politics (Gertzog, 1980).  While political scientists have often been forced to deal with little existing data on the paths women take to the U.S. Congress, innovative data resources have opened a "flood-gate" of opportunities for scholars to examine this issue in greater detail.  Even though there are more resources available to academic, many reseachers continue to assert their own personal and political beliefs into their work, which serves to only perpetuate the existing gender gap in American politics.  Since widows succession refers to a widow who is appointed to her husband's legislative seat, southern women are hindered by the presence of widows succession in congressional politics.  By having relatively few bases of political support, widows are viewed as ineffective legislators by the electorate (Nuwer, 2000).  While many scholars have assumed that widows succession has a significant role in southern politics, the leading causal factor influencing the representation of southern women in legislative politics is party recruitment.  Party recruitment, unlike widows succession, influences who will run or be appointed to legislative office.
 
 

                                                                             References

Bledsoe, Timothy and Mary Herring (1990)  Victims of Circumstances: Women in Pursuit of Political Office.  American
    Political Science Review, 84 (1) 313-323.

Chamberlin, Hope  (1973)  A Minority of Members: Women In The U.S. Congress.  New York:  Praeger Publishers.

Cooperman, Roger and Bruce Oppenheimer.  (2001)  The Gender Gap in the House of Representatives.  In L. Dodd
    and B. Oppenheimer (Eds.). Congress Reconsidered.  (pp.125-140).  Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly,
    Inc.

Converse, Phillip.  (1962).  Information Flow and the Stability of Partisan Attitudes.  Public Opinion Quarterly, 26
    (1) 578-599.

Darcy, R. and Sarah Slavin Schramm (1977).  When Women Run Against Men.  Public Opinion Quarterly, 41 (1)
    1-12.

Gallup Opinion Index.  1976.  128.

Gertzog, Irwin  (1980).  The Matrimonial Connection:  the Nomination of Congressmen's Widows for the House of
    Representatives.  Journal of Politics, 42 (3) 820-833.

Holli, Anna.  Analyzing Variations In Women's Political Representation: Explanatory Models.  27/9/01.
    <http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/staff/holli/lue3kalv1.htm>.

Lee, Marcia (1976).  Why Few Women Hold Public Office: Democracy and Sexual Roles.  Journal of Politics, 91 (2)
    297-314.

Murphy, Thomas (1974).  The New Politics Congress.  Lexington: Lexington Books.

Nuwer, Diane  (2000).  Southern Women Legislators and Patriarchy In The South.  Southeastern Political Review, 28
    (3) 449-468.

Snowiss, Leo (1966).  Congressional Recruitment and Representation.  American Political Science Review, 60 (3)
    627-639.

"Senate Statistics"  27/9/01.  <http://www.senate.gov/learning/stat_14.html>.

Stokes, Donald and Walter Miller (1962).  Party Government and the Saliency of Congress.  Public Opinion Quarterly,
    26 (1) 531-546.

Thomas, Sue (1994).  How Women Legislate. New York:  Oxford Univerisyt Press.

Tolchin, Stephen and Mary Tolchin.  (1973). Clout-Woman Power and Politics.  New York: Coward, McCann, and
    Geoghegan.

"Women in Elected Office"  24/9/01.  <http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~cawp/facts/publ.html>.