Projo Politics Blog

What’s it like to run against U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin? Jennifer Lawless, the Brown University professor who challenged Langevin in a Democratic primary last fall, will headline the League of Women Voters’ annual League Day at the State House March 6.

The title of Lawless’ talk, “Why Women Don’t Run for Office -- And What Happens When They Do,” is markedly similar to the title of her book on the topic, It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don’t Run for Office. Lawless said her speech will include material from the book and her research. But, she said, “I’ll also be incorporating some of my own experiences from the campaign.”

Lawless ran hard on the abortion-rights issue against Langevin, who opposes abortion rights. Langevin won the primary 62 percent to 38 percent.

As to whether she’ll try again against Langevin or anyone else, Lawless is making no promises. Running for office “was unquestionably the most important thing I’ve ever done and it was the best experience I’ve ever had,” she said last week. “I’m certainly not writing off a future run, but right now I’m focusing on my research.”

And, she said, on recruiting other female candidates.

“Candidate recruitment is one of the biggest obstacles that we have right now,” Lawless said. “Women are significantly less likely than men to be recruited to run for office and they’re likely to need multiple recruitment messages in order for the message to stick.”

Lawless’ talk starts at 5:30 p.m. It will be preceded by a reception starting at 4:30 and followed by a turkey dinner with coffee and dessert. The cost is $15 for students, $25 for others. For more information, call the League of Women Voters at (401) 434-6440.

smayerow@projo.com

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