--- title: Fewer White Male Democrats in Congressional Races This Year description: "This is certainly a more reflective candidate pool than we've ever seen," the director of the Reflective Democracy Campaign tells TIME. canonical: https://time.com/5435522/white-men-not-majority-democratic-candidates/ author: Abby Vesoulis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-25T23:33:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:07.141Z article:section: Politics og:title: White Men Don't Make Up the Majority of Democratic Candidates for Congress This Year. That's a First og:description: "This is certainly a more reflective candidate pool than we've ever seen," the director of the Reflective Democracy Campaign tells TIME og:url: https://time.com/5435522/white-men-not-majority-democratic-candidates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c81a935f4bf17d4/6989346b7cdbac8692d5d4f7/women-history-2018-midterm-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: Women History 2018 Midterm Elections og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: White Men Don't Make Up the Majority of Democratic Candidates for Congress This Year. That's a First twitter:description: "This is certainly a more reflective candidate pool than we've ever seen," the director of the Reflective Democracy Campaign tells TIME twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5c81a935f4bf17d4/6989346b7cdbac8692d5d4f7/women-history-2018-midterm-elections.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White Men Don't Make Up the Majority of Democratic Candidates for Congress This Year. That's a First > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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With the possibility of a flip of the House and candidates set to make history, voter enthusiasm builds leading up to the midterm elections._  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Oct 25, 2018 11:33 PM UTC  (L to R): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Stacey Abrams, Debb Haaland (L to R): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Stacey Abrams, Debb Haaland Andres Kudacki; John Amis—AP; Juan Labreche—AP//Shutterstock  by [Abby Vesoulis](https://time.com/author/abby-vesoulis/)  ## Abby Vesoulis Oct 25, 2018 11:33 PM UTC It took until 2008 for female senators to have access to a [Senate swimming pool](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2015/01/mean-female-senators-ruin-grown-man-nudie-pool.html), until [2013](https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/senate-women-secret-history-113908) for female senators to have a bathroom with more than two stalls close to the Senate floor, and until this year for a [female senator to give birth](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/09/tammy-duckworth-just-became-the-first-senator-to-give-birth-in-office.html) to a child while serving in office. Politics has a long history of being a man’s game, but things are changing, especially for Democratic candidates. A new [report](https://wholeads.us/2018-report/) by the [Reflective Democracy Campaign](https://wholeads.us/) indicates that, for the first time, white men don’t constitute a majority of Democratic candidates in races for the Senate, House or state legislatures this year. Specifically, the report indicates that white men make up only 46% of Democratic Senate candidates on the ballot, 42% of Democratic House candidates and 41% of Democratic state legislature candidates. In fact, the number of white men running in congressional general elections has decreased 13% since 2012; meanwhile, the number of white women for the same races in the same timespan has increased 36%, and the number of women of color seeking a congressional seat has increased by 75%. “This is certainly a more reflective candidate pool than we’ve ever seen,” Brenda Choresi Carter, the group’s director, tells TIME. The midterms could produce a string of historic firsts in congressional races and beyond. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old activist from the Bronx, is poised to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Stacey Abrams, 44, could be elected the country’s first black female governor if she beats Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. It’s important to have a diverse body of elected officials, according to Carter. “We’re actually missing out on important perspectives and experiences if we don’t have that full range of representation,” she said. Though the candidate pool is certainly more reflective than it has been in the past, it’s too soon to tell how diverse Congress and state legislatures will be post-election. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the election and how the candidates that we’re tracking here will fare,” Carter said. But “the study did show a historic shift in the demographic makeup of candidates.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] US midterms don't typically get a lot of attention but this year it's different. The 2018 Congressional election has solidified its status as a coast- to- coast battle for the House with both President Trump and former President Barrack Obama hitting the campaign trail to back candidates The elections are slated to not only determine the balance of power in Congress, but they also have the potential to shape the strategies and identities of the two parties heading into the 2020 presidential race. Right now, Republicans have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Re- election is such a big deal because it represents Enormous stakes for both parties. If the republicans keep the house, they will see it as a reinforcement of Trump's mandate. And for the democrats, it's an opportunity to put a check on president Trump, and try to use congressional power to get at some of these scandals that have already been plaguing his presidency. House members serve a two year term, so every seat is up for grabs. Right now Republicans have 236 out of 435 seats. Democrats have 193 and six are vacant. And there are a record number of house members not seeking re- election in 2018, with more than 40 Republicans not running again, including House Speaker Paul Ryan So what happens if dems manage to take the house. Its very unlikely that they will be able to pass, meaningful registration to advance their agenda. So its highly unlikely that we're gonna see anything like medicare for all. What is very likely, is that democrats will use the powers of congressional subpoena, and congressional investigation. To investigate this president who has been accused of so many ethical lapses. But flipping the House is rare. In fact, in the past 25 years, it's only happened three times. Yet, each time voters favor the party not in the White House. This combined with voter energy, has democrats optimistic. Voters are really interested in this year's midterms, partly because of what happened in the 2016 election. Voter turnout in the primaries among Democrats doubled from 2014 levels, and you're also seeing a tremendous amount of activism over the last two years that has all been building up to this year's midterms. And after a divisive 2016 Democratic primary, the party is experiencing a revival of sorts. There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm around registering and mobilizing voters of color, and white suburban moms living in these Districts that have kinda [ UNKNOWN ] conservative in the past, but now are open for pick up for the Democrats. There are a lot of college educated women who woke up after the 2016 election and said, this is not the country that I thought I was going to rest my kids in. And have basically spend the last two years knocking on doors for Democrats. Meanwhile Trump's outsider politics continues to reign supreme for Republicans. So Republicans have really been leaning into Trumpism. The energy is around people who are really embracing Trump's agenda. And it's not just Congress that could change, there are 36 governorships up for grads and more 6, 000 members of state legislatures will be elected. A record number of women are running for office and this year's candidates could make history. Arizona and Tennessee could send women to the US Senate for the first time. US House of Representatives could get its first Somali- American and Native American women. But ultimately it will be voter turnout that will determine this election. There's a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm around getting voters who dont typically show up to the midterms to actually show up and vote this year. And so, if the voter base is significantly different then it's likely that the results will also be significantly different. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5435522/white-men-not-majority-democratic-candidates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5435522/white-men-not-majority-democratic-candidates/"},"headline":"White Men Don't Make Up the Majority of Democratic Candidates for Congress This Year. 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