A decade of shifts to the demographics of political power drove a backlash leading to the outcome of the 2024 election. Our first longitudinal study examining a full decade of data on race, gender, and elections finds that even as white men remain vastly over-represented in elected office, women and people of color are making…
Abortion Bans and Minority Rule
Supreme Court Justice Alito asserts that the Court’s leaked decision overruling Roe v. Wade returns the power to decide for or against abortion “to the people and their elected representatives.” Our research shows that the decision delivers the power to white men.
System Failure: What the 2020 Primary Elections revealed about our democracy
In primary races, women and people of color perform as well or better than their white males but systemic factors sustain white male minority rule.
#advanceAAPIpower: Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Political Leadership
Our report on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) representation in political leadership shows extreme under-representation in elected office.
Mapping Black Representation During A Turbulent Era
We tracked the status of Black elected leadership from the launch of the Trump presidency to its final year. We also share a 2021 snapshot of Black leadership in Congress & statewide office.
Who Ran On November 3rd? US Senate, House, and State Legislature Candidates by Race and Gender
In advance of the November 3, 2020 election, we discovered a remarkable shift in the race and gender demographics of general election candidates from 2012 to 2020. Across the electoral landscape, political power is shifting away from white men, and towards women and people of color.
Beyond “Shattered:” Creating Reflective Democracy in Trump’s America
Our Journalism Fellow, Judith Warner, shares some good news about reflective democracy in the Trump years: All around the country, a new generation of activists, advocates, and campaign professionals has been channeling its frustration and outrage into electoral change.
Confronting the Demographics of Power: America’s Cities
Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest over police violence, we studied the race and gender of elected leaders in America’s 100 largest cities. This report exposes the demographic tensions behind the public safety clashes between city mayors – many of them women of color – and white male governors and federal officials.
Confronting the Demographics of Power: America’s Sheriffs
In the context of the COVID pandemic and increased calls for accountability in the criminal system, the Reflective Democracy Campaign tapped our data to craft a demographic profile of American sheriffs, who manage county jails and a wide range of law enforcement activities, yet operate with less oversight than local police chiefs or commissioners.
Tipping the Scales: Challengers Take on the Old Boys Club of Elected Prosecutors
Elected prosecutors play a key role in a system biased against people of color, yet as our 2014 report revealed, 95% of them are white. In 2019, when we examined prosecutors again, nothing had changed on race, but in just five years, the gender balance had shifted.
The Electability Myth: The Shifting Demographics of Political Power in America
Every election cycle seems to trigger a new round of chatter about “electability.” So-called experts often claim white men are the most electable demographic, but when we ran the numbers, the electability myth fell apart. Sure, white men monopolize politics, but that’s not because voters prefer them. Once women and people of color get on the ballot, they win just like white men do, or perform even better.
A Rising Tide? The Changing Demographics on Our Ballots
Following a presidential election that defeated the hopes of women and people of color across the country, we wanted to understand how voters would respond. Running the numbers on the 2018 midterm ballot, we found an extraordinary shift: Primary voters chose more women and people of color as their candidates than ever before.
