by Jyotsna Sreenivasan

Three African-American women members of Congress have had their majority-black Congressional districts ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), a strong supporter of women’s and civil rights, had her black-majority district redrawn. Happily, she won her primary by 67% of the vote against three white men in a district that is only 33% black. The districts of Reps. Eddie Bernice Johnson and Sheila Jackson-Lee were ruled unconstitutional in June, and the representatives will probably have to run in new districts this fall.

"Redistricting to enforce the Voting Rights Act was one of the few tools we had to ensure at least some people of color representation in Congress," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority. "Now the Supreme Court has taken away even that, making it still more difficult to elect African-Americans and Hispanics to Congress. The Supreme Court seems to be saying it is OK to gerrymander to achieve a ‘white’ district, but not a ‘black’ district. Because of these rulings the seats of almost half of the Black and Hispanic members of Congress are in jeopardy."

With the 1996 elections months away and many states’ filing deadlines still pending, the number of women running for Congress appears to be about on par with 1994. Currently, nine out of 100 senators are women and 47 out of 436 House members are women.

According to Debbie Walsh, acting director of the Center for the American Women and Politics, we probably will not see the type of dramatic increase in women in Congress that we did in 1992 — but we can hope to maintain or slightly increase the number of women in Congress. How many of those women will be pro-choice and feminist remains to be seen.

"In 1994, candidates tended not emphasize the types of issues women care about — such as abortion rights, education, social services, and equal opportunity," said Smeal. "As a result, fewer women came out to vote in 1994 and the number of pro-choice, feminist women in Congress went down. In 1996 I hope we will see a concerted effort by candidates to appeal to women voters."

One of the most interesting races this year is for West Virginia governor. For the first time in West Virginia a woman, Charlotte Pritt (D), is running for governor and her chances of winning look good. Pritt, a former high school teacher and administrator, spent eight years in the West Virginia legislature, where she developed a reputation for serving working people and senior citizens.

We may pick up a few more women in the U.S. Senate. None of the current women Senators are up for re-election, although Senator Nancy Kassebaum is retiring, leaving two open Senate seats in Kansas with the retirement of Senator Bob Dole. Two pro-choice women may run against each other for retiring Senator Dole’s seat, creating a win-win situation for women. Pro-choice Republican Senator Sheila Frahm, who was just sworn in as Dole’s replacement, may be running against either Democrat Jill Docking or Joan Finney depending on who wins the primaries in August. For Kassebaum’s seat at least two women have filed to run: Democrat Sally Thompson and Republican Carla Stovall.

In Louisiana, pro-choice Democrat and former Louisiana state treasurer Mary Landrieu stands a good chance of winning the open Senate seat. A strong supporter of civil rights and women’s rights, she is coming in first in the polls this year for Senate. If Maine’s Susan Collins, a pro-choice Republican, wins her general election race she will join Maine’s other Senator, Olympia Snowe (R), in the Senate, and Maine will become the second state (after California) to have two women Senators.

In the House, two strong feminist women are retiring (Cardiss Collins of Illinois and Pat Schroeder of Colorado), and a few other incumbents face tough races. Reps. Jane Harman (D-CA) and Elizabeth Furse (D-OR) are running against the same opponents whom they narrowly defeated in 1994.

Several new pro-choice Democratic women seem poised to win their races for the House this year. Darlene Hooley of Oregon is likely to win against anti-choice Rep. Jim Bunn. Diana DeGette in Colorado is running for retiring Rep. Schroeder’s seat. DeGette has been a strong pro-choice and pro-woman state representative in Colorado. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan may also win against right-wing, anti-choice Republican Rep. Dick Chrysler. We may gain another Latina representative if Loretta Sanchez of California wins against Rep. Robert Dornan.

Indiana is sure to gain a pro-choice woman representative in district 10, where Republican Virginia Blankenbaker is running against Democrat Julia Carson. And pro-choice Republican Kay Granger of Texas is likely to win an open seat.

For state-wide offices, Barbara Hafer, a prominent feminist Republican, is running for state treasurer in Pennsylvania against a Democratic woman, Mina Baker Knoll.

This article was prepared using information provided by the Center for the American Woman and Politics, EMILY’s List, National Women’s Political Caucus, WISH List, and Women’s Campaign Fund.