Richards on the other hand went negative--realnegative--early on in the primary. The stingingrebuttals of her primary opponents' stuck with herin the form of high negative ratings as sheentered the general contest.
Both cases, experts say, highlight differentaspects of the same problem: the fine line womenstill have to walk in defining their campaigngoals.
IN A DAY AND AGE when money is crucialto running a competitive race, women face yetanother obstacle: a lack of access totraditionally male financial networks.
Often a kind of catch-22 has plagued womencandidates, linked to the general perception thatas newcomers, they cannot win. Sinceincumbents--nearly all them men--raise money moreeasily than challengers, women remain stuck in afinancial rut.
And in all likelihood, experts, predict, thisvicious circle will continue until significantlygreater numbers of women win office.
Nationwide, most women candidates are beingdramatically outspent by their male opponents. InTexas, Republican nominee for governor ClaytonWilliams has outspent Richards by about $17million to $11 million. More than $6 million thattotal is from his own personal funds.
In California, where Feinstein has had to relyon over $3 million of husband Richard Blum's moneyto finance her gubernatorial bid, the ratio lookssimilar. looks similar.
But raising money is already easier than itonce was. National fundraising organizationssupporting women candidates, such as Emily's Listand the Women's Campaign Fund, have beenincreasingly able to help women surmount financialdisadvantages.
"In terms of raising money, women now tend todo as well as their male counterparts in similarsituations. But the power of incumbency is stillthe number one barrier to women or any newleadership," says Danowitz. "Their differentvoices aren't enough to break the shackles."
BUT EVEN IF THIS TURNS OUT to be adisappointing "year of the woman" in terms of thenumbers elected, analysts from women's campaigngroups argue that female candidates are definitelyon their way up.
"These women didn't materialize from thin air,"says CAWP Director Ruth Mandel. "Most of them arerunning for higher office after years of workingtheir way up the political ladder.
"We've watched the numbers of women in statelegislatures and local offices grow steadily forthe past two decades. They are today's andtomorrow's candidates for higher office."
In 1988, Morse says, nearly 2000 women soughtlegislative seats, and in she estimates that "wellover 2000" have sought them this year.
Most of these women entered the politicalpipeline through school boards, local offices orappointed positions on state and local boards andcommissions, Morse says. "That's the way werecommend they begin," she explains.
Nonetheless, a glass ceiling continues to