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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Despite an increase in female candidates for statewide office, women will remain a minority in the Nebraska Legislature next year no matter who wins in November.
Women could see a net gain of up to three seats after the election, but with that increase they would only account for 26 percent of Nebraska's state senators.
Women now hold 10 seats in the 49-member Legislature. Three will leave office in January because of term limits. Six women are running for the first time, all in districts represented by men.
If all incumbents and the first-timers win, there would be 13 women in the Legislature.
That would be near the national average of women making up 24.2 percent of legislatures in 2013, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Women in Nebraska have gained prominence in recent high-profile elections, including Republican Deb Fischer's victory in the 2012 U.S. Senate race and Jean Stothert's win in last year's Omaha mayoral contest.
This year, Democrats are fielding women candidates for a number of statewide offices in Nebraska. State Sen. Amanda McGill of Lincoln is running for state auditor, Fremont lawyer Janet Stewart is campaigning for attorney general and Lancaster County Commissioner Jane Raybould is vying to become Nebraska's next lieutenant governor.
Nebraska was the nation's first state to see a gubernatorial race between two women, when Republican Kay Orr defeated Democrat Helen Boosalis in 1986.
Still, civic and political groups in Nebraska said they're troubled to see relatively few women in the Legislature in a state where women make up slightly more than half of the population. Some are trying to draw more into the public realm.
"It's very concerning," said Sherry Miller, president of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Nebraska. "In preparing for this year's primary, I was dismayed that there were only a handful of women candidates running — and very few from greater Nebraska."
Miller, who ran for a local school board seat in 1999, said many female candidates want to wait until "the right time" when they're young, or retired with more free time.
"It consumes your life," Miller said. "If you have other things happening that you need take care of, it's really tough."
Those challenges are magnified in geographically large districts outside of Omaha and Lincoln because of the additional travel time required, she said.
The Nebraska Federation of Republican Women helps run "campaign schools" with the state party and works to promote candidates who have received a party endorsement, said Lona Ferguson, the group's president. Democrats are undertaking similar efforts.
Ferguson said she expects the number of women seeking legislative seats will grow over time.
"We encourage them to run because we think they bring some additional things to the table," Ferguson said. "They have concerns about children and the educational system. Not that men don't, but we feel they bring a little more of a mother's concern. It provides a good balance on legislative issues."
Women in the Legislature often provide different perspectives on policy debates because of their experience managing their family's finances, keeping tabs on their health care needs, and balancing jobs and children, said state Sen. Kathy Campbell, of Lincoln. That background often translates when working on state budgets or health care policy, she said.
"I think it adds a diversity of opinion," Campbell said. "We all bring different backgrounds and experiences to the Legislature, and I think we miss some of that by not having more women."
Campbell, who speaks occasionally at campaign-training workshops for women, said many are initially reluctant to raise money for themselves. Some also question whether they can commit to a position that demands long hours for low pay while managing their families and a full-time job.
Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln said it's important to have a government that reflects its citizenry.
"It's important for a lot of reasons, and not just for the sake of having women there," she said. "It's important to have a lot of different perspectives and backgrounds. "When you look at the numbers and where we are today, we have a long ways to go."
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