Our 2020 Women to Watch

Republican Women for Progress is pleased to announce its “Women to Watch” list for the 2020 cycle. Our Women to Watch list highlights Republican women running for office at every level of government who are committed to working through the legislative process in a bipartisan way in order to create effective policy at the local, state, and national levels.

These candidates hail from coast to coast and all across America and are, among so many other things, first generation immigrants, wives, mothers, and single women, lawyers and doctors, business owners and veterans, and two women who previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to RWFP Political Director Kodiak Hill-Davis, “The candidates’ backgrounds are as diverse as their positions on the issues, but what ties them all together is that they are all smart, thoughtful Republican women ready to govern.”

There are more Republican women running for federal elected office in 2020 than in any previous year. This is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself, and RWFP applauds these candidates for their willingness to throw their hats into the ring — especially in such a tough cycle. The top of the ticket is perhaps the most polarizing presidential election in history, and many of these women are running in competitive districts, which could swing either way. They are part of a historic candidate class of Republican women.

It also bears noting the WTW list includes state and local candidates. They may not receive as much attention as the congressional races, but these candidates and their campaigns are critical to developing a deep and wide pipeline of Republican women to run for elected office.

On election night, be sure to follow our Women to Watch candidates along with the rest of the 2020 field using the Center for American Women and Politics Election Tracker.

Federal

California
Young Kim (CA-39
Michelle Steel (CA-48)

Florida
Vennia Francois (FL-10)
Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27)

Illinois
Valerie Mukherjee (IL-10)
Ester Joy King (IL-17)

Iowa
Ashley Hinson (IA-1)
Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-2)

New Jersey
Rosemary Becchi (NJ-11)

New York
Claudia Tenney (NY-22)
Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11)

Oklahoma
Stephanie Bice (OK-5)

Pennsylvania
Lisa Scheller (PA-7)

Texas
Genevieve Collins (TX-32)
Beth Van Duyne (TX-24)

Wyoming
Cynthia Lummis (WY)

State & Local

Kim Healy, Connecticut State Senate
Felicia Kalan, Queens City Council
Maria Vismale, Baltimore City Council

Disclaimer: Inclusion of a candidate in RWFP’s Women to Watch series does not constitute an endorsement by the organization or its members.