Mass. Women Score Political Wins; 3rd District Race Raises Question Of Ranked Choice Voting

An extraordinary number of women are running for office here in Massachusetts and across the country. For instance, Lori Trahan, the Democratic candidate for Congress running to succeed Rep. Niki Tsongas in the state's 3rd Congressional District.

On Tuesday, Trahan attended a Democratic Party unity rally a day after she was finally declared the winner of a very close primary election two weeks ago.

After an official recount, she beat her closest competitor Dan Koh, who conceded Monday, but by just 145 votes. Trahan will face Republican challenger Rick Green and independent Mike Mullen.

Trahan's win is part of an unprecedented wave of women running for political office in Mass. and across the country. Consider this: In the current congressional election cycle, 50 percent of non-incumbent Democratic House nominees are women. That eclipses the last record of 29 percent back in 2016.

Female candidates are fired up by a number of issues, including the policies of Donald Trump — but this is not only about the president.

Additionally, the slim margin in ThirdDistrict race raised questions about whether ranked choice voting would have been more useful and given the election more legitimacy, as voters could have ranked candidates in order of preference.

Dave Hopkins, professor of political science at Boston College. He tweets @DaveAHopkins.

Julie McClain Downey, national director of campaign communications with Emily's List. She tweets @McClainJulie.

Drew Penrose, law and policy director for Fair Vote, a Maryland-based electoral reform organization. He tweets @Drew_FV.