A majority of women believe male candidates have an advantage when it comes to running for public office, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.
In the survey released on Thursday, 65 percent of female voters said men seeking political office have a competitive edge compared to other demographics. Another 5 percent of female respondents said male candidates actually face a political disadvantage, while 30 percent said they have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.
Overall, 60 percent of respondents said male candidates have the upper hand, compared to 8 percent who thought otherwise.
Though a number of female candidates have since dropped out, the survey comes amid a record number of female Democrats running for president.
There are currently four female candidates seeking the Democratic nomination: Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth WarrenHouse Democrats back slower timeline for changing Confederate base names On The Money: Push for student loan forgiveness puts Biden in tight spot | Trump is wild card as shutdown fears grow | Mnuchin asks Fed to return 5 billion in unspent COVID emergency funds Mnuchin asks Fed to return 5 billion in unspent COVID-19 emergency funds MORE (D-Mass.), a top-tier candidate, Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Amy KlobucharFormer Minnesota Democratic leader quits party Top cybersecurity official ousted by Trump Lawmakers question tech CEOs about content moderation in first post-election hearing MORE (D-Minn.), Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
Tulsi GabbardSix people whose election wins made history Next Congress expected to have record diversity Native Americans elected to Congress in record numbers this year MORE (D-Hawaii) and author Marianne Williamson
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Sen. Kamala Harris
Kamala HarrisOutside groups flood Georgia with advertising buys ahead of runoffs Pence campaigns in Georgia as Trump casts shadow on runoffs The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Capital One - Pfizer, BioNTech apply for vaccine authorization MORE (D-Calif.) dropped out of the race in December after months of low polling numbers and lack of sufficient campaign funds. The move came nearly four months after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Kirsten GillibrandDemocratic senators urge Facebook to take action on anti-Muslim bigotry Social media responds to Harris making history: 'I feel like our ancestors are rejoicing' Ocasio-Cortez says she doesn't plan on 'staying in the House forever' MORE (D-N.Y.) ended her own presidential bid after similarly struggling to gain traction among voters.
But this wave of women candidates is nothing new. The 2018 midterm elections were dubbed the “Year of the Woman,” after more than 100 women were elected into the House. This record number included some firsts, including the first Muslim women — Reps. Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi TlaibGOP congresswoman-elect wants to form Republican 'Squad' called 'The Force' OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden eyes new leadership at troubled public lands agency | House progressives tout their growing numbers in the chamber at climate rally | Trump administration pushes for rollback of Arctic offshore drilling regulations House progressives tout their growing numbers in the chamber at climate rally MORE (D-Mich.) and Illhan Omar (D-Minn.) — to ever be elected into Congress.
The Hill-HarrisX survey was conducted among 1,004 registered voters nationwide. It has a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
—Tess Bonn
