Since more women are becoming political scientists, research is typically skewed by personal bias in favor of feminist culture.  As a result, research pertaining to southern women in legislative politics has been distorted.  Many congressional scholars are interested in southern patriarchy and the influence of "widows succession" on southern politics.  "Widows succession" is a term that refers to a female who is appointed to her husband's elected office upon his death.  However, research concerning widows succession does not take into account external influences as the female legislator's successful bid for the office after her husband's term has expired or internal influences as the political structure and party dominance within the congressional district.  In my paper, I will explore the relevance, if any, of widows succession on current southern politics, and will attempt to examine other causal factors influencing the number of southern women elected to legislative office.  My claim will be that party recruitment, unlike widows succession, has been the leading causal factor influencing the low representation of southern women in legislative politics.

Cooperman, R. and B. Oppenheimer.  (2001)  The Gender Gap in the House of Representatives.  In L. Dodd and
    B. Oppenheimer (Eds.).  Congress Reconsidered (pp. 125-140).  Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly
    Inc.

    According to Roger Cooperman and Bruce Oppenheimer, it has been well documented by political scientists that a substantial "gender gap" remains in American politics.  While there is little doubt in any political scientist's mind that a gender gap does exist in current politics, controversy abounds as to why a gender gap exists.  In an attempt to document this gender gap, researchers have tended to gravitate toward analyzing the representation of women in southern politics by controlling for two separate variables, south and non south.  By controlling for these two separate variables and with the traditionalist culture of the South, researchers have often assumed that internal influences as patriarchy and matrimonial connections have influenced, or rather hindered, the representation of southern women in legislative politics.  Documented by several researchers in the field, one theory about the representation of southern women implies that the recruitment of men and women is the leading causal factor in this trend in American politics .  The theory states that women are less likely to be recruited by political parties to run for public office than their male counterparts.  It is noted that the Democratic Party has a tendency to recruit more women candidates than the Republican Party, but the Democratic Party may be recruiting these female candidates for "safe" legislative seats.  "Safe seats" are seats the party is guaranteed to win.  In any event, this theory suggests other factors influence the low percentage of women in legislative office, and virtually, if not completely, discredits the theory that "widows succession" has an effect on Southern politics.  For the purposes of my paper, these data suggest when political parties do recruit female candidates, they recruit these women for "safe seats."  Furthermore, political parties do not believe that women are seen as favorably as men when running for legislative office, leading parties to recruit women for "safe seats."
 

Davidson, R. and W. Oleszek.  (2000) Congress and Its Members  (7th ed.).  Washington, D.C.:  C.Q. Press.

    Roger Davidson and Walter Oleszek argue that current female legislators are being elected on their own merit to Congress and state legislatures, rather than being appointed to fill the vacant seats of their deceased husbands.  While there are still some cases of matrimony in legislative politics, such as Representative Mary Bono (R-CA) and Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MI), the tradition of widows succession has become increasingly less important in assessing legislative politics.  At best, widows succession tends to be an isolated incident in today's southern politics.  According to evidence cited by many political scientists, the increased representation of women in southern legislative politics is party recruitment.  If women can create powerful bases of political support and be viewed as viable candidates, political parties will be enticed to recruit more southern women for legislative office.  Evidence suggests that the stronger the female political candidates is, the more likely the female candidate will win the election and be a successful legislator.
 

Engelbart, R.  Women in United States Congress:  1917-1972. Colorado:  Libraries Unlimited Inc.

    Roger Engelbart notes that since the first woman, Jeanette Rankin (R-MO), was elected to Congress in 1917, political research has focused on women who are elected to office, and the reasons why they enter politics.  Aside from the election of 1992, dubbed "The Year of the Woman" because of the influx of women elected to Congress, research has tended to end at the election of 1972, the only other year there was an influx of female legislators elected to office in the twentieth century.  The representation of women in Congress remains abysmally small, but there are strong indicators suggesting women are making significant steps toward increasing their representation in legislative politics in the South.  If the number of female legislators is compared to the number of male legislators, the numbers will assuredly have a "gender gap" bias.  However, this assumption is derived from "face value" facts that serve to ignore the actual problems existing in our political system.  If a person examines the number of female legislators through the course of the past eighty years, accounting for technological advancements in the South, the deterioration of southern traditionalism, and the number of women who are now members of the workforce, one can see the significant changes in southern politics, including the slow, but gradual increase in southern female legislators.  Since women seem to be increasing their status in southern legislative politics, political parties may be viewing female candidates as an asset, rather than a liability.  If so, women are creating their own political bases of support and creating strong political images.
 

Gertzog, I. (1980)  The Matrimonial Connection:  the Nomination of Congressmen's Widows for the House of
    Representatives.  Journal of Politics, 42 (3), 820-833.

    Political scientist Irwin Gertzog argues that matrimony, taken as a whole, does not strongly implicate the number of female legislators elected to office.  However, when matrimony is viewed as two separate variables, south and non south, there is clear evidence that matrimony, or in other words, "widows succession," does seem to be more relevant in southern politics than other areas in the country.  However, other factors influence whether widows will succeed their husbands in office, or if other people will be chosen to fill the vacant seats.  It is only assumed a widow will succeed her husband in office upon his death, which means that other people may be considered to fill the vacant seat.  Various factors, including:  the competitiveness of the district, the party structure, and other important factors influencing who will succeed the male legislator, determine the successor to office.  Widows succession tends to be a less influential factor in current southern politics because less Representatives are dying while in office, and a different set of criterion are used today in determining who will fill a vacant legislative seat upon a legislator's untimely demise.  Essentially, where there are cases of matrimony within the South, as in other areas of the country, different criterion are used in appointing these women to vacant legislative seats.

Gilmore, G.  (2000)  The Women of the Texas Legislature-Through The Eyes of Journalists.  Southeastern
    Political Review, 28 (3), 469-498.

    Greg Gilmore suggests that many researchers have presumed that Texas women, like women from other southern states, have been brought into legislative politics through "widows succession."  However, widows tend not to receive  favorable recognition from the press, other than the standard recognition of filling the legislative seat of a deceased male legislator.  The indication that widows tend not to be dominant political candidates suggests that the stronger female candidates in the South are those females who are elected separately from any connection to their spouses.  Women, elected separately from their spouses, are more likely to be politically astute, ambitious, and seen by the electorate as viable candidates.  Since less southern legislators are dying while in office, the pattern of southern female legislators, elected on their own merit, seems to be promising for the continuation of females elected to southern legislative politics.
 

Green, K. and D. Wall.  (2000)  Women in Southern United States Politics.  Southeastern Political Review, 28
    (3), 389-395.

    Political scientists Kate Green and Diane Wall suggest southern women, as a product of their upbringing, are typically linked to southern politics by a matrimonial connection that influences the likelihood of women being elected to legislative offices in the South.  As a result of southern matrimony, many researchers feel that women continue to be viewed less favorably by the southern electorate and, in turn, remain underrepresented  in southern politics. However, many researchers have failed to recognize, further distorting this otherwise credible topic, the decreasing importance of matrimony in current southern politics.  Many women are able to successfully run for political office in the south today with little, if any, regard to their husbands.  What may have been at one time a factor in the low representation of southern female legislators isn't viewed as a causal factor for the current situation pertaining to southern female legislators.
 

Matthews, D.  (1983)  Legislative Recruitment and Legislative Careers.  Handbook of Legislative Research, 28
    (3), 17-55.

    "The big losers in legislative recruitment everywhere have been women" (Matthews 21).  Many beneficial insights have been able to be established from current political scientists about legislative candidates and the effect legislative politics has on the different regions in the country.  As of 1979, forty-one percent of females in Congress had been appointed to fill the vacancy left by the death of their husbands.  However, political scientists have not gone far enough in assessing legislative politics.  For instance, women who come to the political process through "widows succession" have a strong tendency to not seek election after their husbands' terms expire, further establishing the argument that the stronger female political candidates are those women who do not come into the process through "widows succession."  Since widows are not the only potential successors to vacant legislative seats, political parties could be enticed to choose other people to fill the seat, who are stronger political candidates and more likely to win the "seat" in the next election.  Therefore, in order to increase the representation of women in legislative politics in the South, women have to be viewed as strong political candidates, worthy of being elected to a legislative office.
 

Miller, P.  (2000)  The Silenced Majority: Glacial Movement of Women in Kentucky Politics.  Southeastern
    Political Review, 28 (3), 499-529.

    Penny Miller illustrates the problem of the representation of women in legislative politics by examining the gender gap in Kentucky politics.  Kentucky, like other non-southern states, shows that the low representation of women in legislative politics is not isolated to one area of the country.  The low representation of women in legislative politics is a result of party recruitment., not "widows succession."  Neither of the two major political parties (Democratic and Republican) recruit female candidates, and if so, the women are typically used as "sacrificial lambs" in districts where the party has no chance of winning.  However, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that parties will use female candidates as "sacrificial lambs."  Some political scientists have suggested that political parties will use female candidates to run for "safe seats."  Regardless of the reasons why political parties recruit southern women, data suggest that it is party recruitment, which is serving to hinder the representation of women in legislative politics.
 

Murphy, T.  (1974)  The New Politics Congress.  Massachusetts:  Lexington Books.

    Congressional scholar Thomas Murphy has studied the legislative institution and the various trends that have evolved from various legislatures in substantial detail.  Murphy believes several researchers have focused on when women began to make significant increases in Congress and state legislatures, thereby focusing on why those increases occurred.  Women began to win legislative elections when their own merits could stand on their own, and were viewed by the media and the electorate as strong, political candidates.  Conversely, widows succession began to decrease in importance when fewer southern legislators were dying while in office.  Additionally, it is important to note the tendency of the widow to drop out when the next election is held.  Since women are beginning to create their own political bases and images as strong candidates, many scholars believe there will be an influx of female legislators nominated by political parties and elected to legislative office in the South.  Furthermore, the importance of widows succession on southern politics will continue to be diminished as fewer legislators die while in office, and as more women create powerful political bases of support and images as worthy legislative candidates.

Nuwer, D.  (2000)  Southern Women Legislators and Patriarchy In The South.  Southeastern Political Review,
    28 (3), 449-468.

    Political scientist Deanne Nuwer argues that research pertaining to southern politics is dominated by the theory of a matrimonial connection between female legislators and southern patriarchy, which is often used to explain the low representation of southern women in legislative politics.  According to Nuwer, some political scientists are correct in their analysis of the influence of widows succession on southern politics. To many political scientists, like Deanne Nuwer, widows succession is a dominant, preexisting feature of southern politics, causing a low percentage of women to be elected to legislative office.  This assumption would be correct, except for one major flaw.  This theory does not take into account the likelihood of male legislators dying while in office.  If fewer legislators are dying while in office, it is only fair to assume that widows succession will have less impact on southern culture than it once had.