Record number of GOP women running for N.J. offices this year
April 4, 2013Joelle Farrell| April 4, 2013 | The Inquirer
TRENTON – A record number of Republican women are running for state office this year, including one who will face off against the highest-ranking Democrat in the state, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester).
A total of 75 women filed for state candidacy this year, including 29 Republican Assembly candidates and nine Republican Senate candidates, the highest percentage of women the GOP has ever put up, according to the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University.
Among the Democratic candidates, 26 women are running for Assembly and 11 women are running for Senate this year, numbers they’ve either matched or bested in previous elections, according to the center’s data.
“Our party leadership has done a wonderful job recruiting diverse and highly qualified women who are willing to take up the mantle of public service in these key legislative districts,” said Ben Sparks, a spokesman for the New Jersey State Republican Committee.
