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Fortune
Fortune
Emma Hinchliffe, Nina Ajemian

Election 2024: Downballot races to watch for women

(Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Good morning! A member of the Dimon family goes door-to-door for the Kamala Harris campaign, Linda Rendle's Clorox recovered from a cyberattack, and stay grounded this Election Day!

- GOTV. Happy Election Day! Voters are heading to the polls, with the chance to elect the United States' first female president. We could be in for a long week, with much more coverage of election results to come; in 2020, you may remember we didn't know who won until Saturday. While we wait for the biggest news about the race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, these are some downballot races and ballot propositions to keep an eye on tonight:

—Abortion is on the ballot in 10 states. In Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York, voters have the chance to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions.

—In Florida, Missouri, and South Dakota, voters could override state abortion bans that have been enacted post-Roe.

—In Nebraska, dueling ballot measures would either enshrine abortion restrictions in the state constitution or "establish a right to abortion until fetal viability," generally between 22 and 24 weeks. If both ballot measures are approved, the highest vote-getter becomes law.

—Nine female incumbents are running for reelection to the Senate, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. Six women are running for open Senate seats—five Democrats and one Republican.

—Four women are running for open governor seats: Democrats Jennifer McCormick in Indiana, Crystal Quade in Missouri, and Joyce Craig in New Hampshire, who is facing off against Republican Kelly Ayotte.

—Across all categories, women's representation among candidates is below records set in 2018, 2020, and 2022. In the House of Representatives this year, 258 women are running as party nominees, compared to a 2020 record of 298 (down 13%). Across state legislatures, 3,511 women are nominees compared to a record of 3,621 in 2022 (down 3%).

—Some experts say this dropoff can be attributed to the presidential contest overpowering Senate and House races in 2024; fewer districts are in play and numbers of men running are also down.

—It's not just the White House; there are a host of "firsts" to watch out for. Delaware has two notable (and likely) ones: Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester would be the first Black woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate and Democrat Sarah McBride would be the first openly transgender person to serve in the U.S. Congress. The Center for American Women and Politics kindly keeps a running list of all possible "firsts;" you can peruse the rest here.

Stay tuned—we'll see you with more news tomorrow.

Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com

 You’re invited. Network with the world’s top business and policy leaders in New York City Nov. 11-12 at the Fortune Global Forum. Confirmed attendees include CEOs of PayPal, Dow, Nasdaq, Siemens USA, Indeed, Yum China, and AT&T. Request your invite here.

The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.

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