Female Appointed Successors in the United States Senate

The evolving roles of women in Congress have received appreciable attention from legislative scholars. In this research note, we seek to couple research on departures from Congress and women in Congress by examining what happens in Senate seats vacated by electoral defeat, death, resignation, and retirement. Using data from 1919 through 2019, we analyze the circumstances under which women are appointed Senate successors and particularly on the ability of female senators to be replaced by other women once they leave office. This article builds on previous work on women’s accession to high political office, particularly “political widowhood,” but to the best of our knowledge is the first to focus on female successors in the US Senate.