Rising Tide for Republican Women Candidates

The Tuesday, June 8, 2010 primaries surged with a rising tide for republican women. Four high-profile races highlighted a new wave of leadership, a force to be reckoned with; republican business women. These women have proven records, demonstrable executive experience, and well-honed management and leadership skills.

In his opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, Doyle McManus writes:

GOP primary voters, a deeply conservative bunch, don't appear to have much of a problem with strong women in public life anymore. Not only that: The GOP is consciously trying to turn gender into a selling point. This isn't just the march of equality; it's a strategy. Republican strategists say female candidates should run well this year, when voters are dissatisfied with incumbents of both parties, because women are, by definition, outsiders; they're not members of the "old-boys club."

See full story here: 2010: the Year of the Conservative Woman?By Doyle McManus - June 10, 2010

High Profile Primary Wins

South Carolina swept Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, into the fight for the governorship of the Palmetto state. Nevada placed republican tea party-backed candidate, Sharron Angle, into what many consider will be a slugfest, taking on incumbent Senator Harry Reid. California provided a double victory to Republican women by placing hard-hitting former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina into the ring to challenge incumbent Senator Barbara Boxer, and awarding former eBay CEO Meg Whitman the opportunity to take on Democrat Jerry Brown in the California Governor's race.

If Whitman wins the race, she'll be California's first female Governor. According to the Center for American Women and Politics only half of the states have ever elected a female Governor. Many believe 2010 is the year to change this statistic. (Get statistics about women and politics here.)

More Republican Women to Watch in November

New Mexico's Republican candidate for Governor is Susana Martinez, a county district attorney in New Mexico who garnered a boost with support and an endorsement from Sarah Palin. Martinez with take on another woman, opponent, Diane Denish. The governor's seat is up for grabs due to term limits on current governor Bill Richardson (D).

Connecticut republican candidate Linda McMahon currently holds a solid lead over her two Republican primary opponents. A win in the primary puts McMahon into a tough battle for Connecticut's Senate seat with former Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (D). McMahon, a former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) executive has the experience, grit and the money for this smack down race.

Even Arizona is gearing up for another Republican woman victory, as current governor, Jan Brewer's popularity soars in response to her tough stance on illegal immigration. Up for re-election, her polling numbers are promising.

On Friday, May 21, 2010, Rasmussen Reports writes: "After championing her state's new immigration law in the face of criticism from President Obama and others, incumbent Arizona Governor Jan Brewer for the first time now attracts more than 50% support in her bid for reelection against likely Democratic candidate Terry Goddard."

(Read entire Rasmussen Report here.)

Jan Brewer enjoyed a hearty endorsement from Sarah Palin, and together they launched SecuretheBorder.org, a site that provides contact information for individuals and organizations that have called to boycott Arizona. Visitors can sign a petition to support Arizona, and demand a secure border. Brewer's re-election campaign provides the site's funding.

Learn More About These Republican Women Their Websites

Nikki Haley - Republican Candidate for South Carolina Governor

http://www.nikkihaley.com/

Born in Bamberg, S.C., the daughter of Indian immigrants, Nikki's first job was keeping the books for her family's clothing store - at the age of 13. She went on to graduate from Clemson University with a B.S. degree in accounting and following her graduation worked as Accounting Supervisor for the Charlotte, N.C. based corporation FCR, Inc. and five of its subsidiaries. Nikki then went back to the family business where she helped oversee its growth into a multi-million dollar operation. Since 2008 she has served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Lexington Medical Foundation.

Sharron Angle - Republican Candidate for Nevada Senate Seat

http://www.sharronangle.com/

Sharron Angle graduated from Wooster High School in Reno. Four years later, she earned her BA in Fine Arts from the University of Nevada Reno. Angle co-founded, administrated, and taught grades K-12 in a one-room Christian school of 24 students for two years. While in Tonopah, Sharron also tutored at Nye County Juvenile Justice for six years and operated the Tonopah Life Center, a family-oriented fitness gym.

Carly Fiorina - Republican Candidate for California Senate Seat

http://www.carlyforcalifornia.com/

While she is perhaps best known as the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett-Packard Company (HP), what is not as well known is Carly worked her way through undergraduate and graduate school. A self-made woman, she started her business career as a secretary and went on to become the first, and to date, the only woman to lead a Fortune 20 company. She helped put herself through school, doing the books at a local hair salon while she earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford and taught undergraduates in order to pay for an MBA from the University of Maryland. Her Masters of Science in Business from MIT was the result of years of hard work at AT&T - they thought enough about her promising future to send her there.

Meg Whitman - Republican Candidate for California Governor

http://www.megwhitman.com/

Meg attended Princeton University, where she received a degree in economics. She then went on to Harvard Business School, where she received her MBA in 1979. Her first professional job was as a brand assistant at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. Later, Meg joined the consulting firm Bain & Co.'s San Francisco office, where she would work for the next eight years, eventually becoming a vice president. Meg's career led her to key executive positions at some of America's best-known companies, including Disney, Stride Rite, FTD and Hasbro. Each career stop prepared her for the unprecedented opportunity she encountered in 1997, when she met the founder of a tiny start-up called eBay. Meg had honed a style of leadership that emphasized listening and teamwork. She was a seasoned manager of large, complex organizations. At eBay, Meg made history. When she joined eBay, the company had just $4.7 million in revenues and 30 employees; when she retired in March of 2008, ten years later, the company had nearly $8 billion in revenues and 15,000 employees worldwide. Time ranked her among the world's most influential people. Fortune ranked her the most powerful woman in business in 2004 and 2005. And Business Week listed her among business' top managers year after year.

Susana Martinez - Republican Candidate for New Mexico Governor

http://www.susanamartinez2010.com

Susana Martinez was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley. She comes from a hardworking, middle class family. Her father and mother started a security guard business with $400. They built their business with Susana's mother in the kitchen doing the paperwork and Susana working as a security guard, while studying in the evenings. Susana Martinez earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and later earned her law degree from the University of Oklahoma. She is the District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, a position she has held for 13 years.

Linda E. McMahon - Republican Candidate for Connecticut Senate Seat

http://www.linda2010.com/

Linda E. McMahon last year stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, a publicly traded company in Stamford, Connecticut that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Linda helped grow the company from a modest 13-person operation to a global enterprise with over 500 employees and offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, London, Ontario, Shanghai, and Tokyo. The company has been named one of Forbes 200 Best Small Companies. Linda has been widely recognized as one of the country's top female executives, both for her business acumen and her support of a variety of community-based initiatives. In 2007, Linda was named one of Multichannel News' "Wonder Women," recognizing her accomplishments as a leader in the U.S. cable television industry. Linda was a high school honor society student who was also fond of basketball and tennis. She graduated from East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., with a Bachelor of Science in French and certified to teach.

Jan Brewer - Republican Candidate for Re-Election as Arizona's Governor

http://janbrewer.com/about-the-governor/

Janice K. Brewer became the 22nd person to take the oath of office as Governor of Arizona on January 21, 2009. She is Arizona's fifth Secretary of State to succeed to Governor in mid-term.
Jan Brewer has lived in Arizona for 39 years, and she has spent the past 27 of them serving the people and upholding the public trust. There are few, if any, elected officials in Arizona with a broader range of productive experience in public service. Prior to her succession to Governor, she served as Arizona Secretary of State, as Maricopa County Supervisor, and as a highly respected member of both houses of the Arizona Legislature, where she rose to leadership of the State Senate.

Online sources:

2010: the Year of the Conservative Woman? By Doyle McManus - June 10, 2010
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcmanus-20100610,0,1171692.column

Center for American Women and Politics at http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/

Rasmussen Reports: Election 2010: Arizona Governor - Arizona Governor: Brewer 52%, Goddard 39%http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_governor_elections/arizona/election_2010_arizona_governor

Nikki Haley - Republican Candidate for South Carolina Governor

http://www.nikkihaley.com/

Sharron Angle - Republican Candidate for Nevada Senate Seat

http://www.sharronangle.com/

Carly Fiorina - Republican Candidate for California Senate Seat

http://www.carlyforcalifornia.com/

Meg Whitman - Republican Candidate for California Governor

http://www.megwhitman.com/

Linda E. McMahon - Republican Candidate for Connecticut Senate Seat

http://www.linda2010.com/

Jan Brewer - Republican Candidate for Re-Election as Arizona's Governor

http://janbrewer.com/about-the-governor/