United States of America

Lesia Romanov, the assistant principal at an at-risk elementary school on the outskirts of town, is running for the Nevada state assembly against a brothel owner and self-proclaimed pimp, Dennis Hof.

The paradox could not be greater. And for women in Nevada — and across the country — the opportunity for political advancement in this year's election season is growing by the day.

Arizona’s Senate race turned into an all-women contest Tuesday night after voters tapped Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally to represent their respective parties in November’s general election.

Four days before the 2016 congressional primary in her Northern California district, Erin Schrode woke up to tens of thousands of messages. They were everywhere: in her email, on her cellphone, on her Facebook and her Twitter and her Instagram.

“All would laugh with glee as they gang raped her and then bashed her bagel eating brains in,” one said.

Women are not just running for office in record numbers this year — they are winning.

Results from Tuesday night’s primaries in four states offered yet another strong showing by women candidates this cycle, particularly on the Democratic side. CRP took this opportunity to examine the data on women candidates over time, with special attention to the results by party and gender for candidates in primary races.

Two Democrats are poised to become the first Muslim women in Congress, offering a sharp counterpoint to the anti-Muslim policies and sentiment surfacing in Washington and across the country.

On a cloudy afternoon this summer, Christine Hallquist, a former utility executive from Vermont, listened closely as Danica Roem, the Virginia state delegate who won national recognitionwhen she became the first transgender person elected to her state’s Legislature, offered tips as the pair canvassed a stark residential neighborhood here.