Women, Money & Politics in 2026 - Who Gives and Why It Matters

On Wednesday, October 14, at 8:30 a.m. ET on Zoom we held our October Breakfast Briefing: Women, Money & Politics in 2026 - Who Gives and Why It Matters. We were joined by Kira Sanbonmatsu, Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University, Senior Scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), and author. Kira shared new data from CAWP’s 2026 Women, Money & Politics Watch project, which she leads, with a particular focus on donor demographics and what the data reveals about who participates in political fundraising and how those patterns may affect women candidates. In addition to her research on gender, race and ethnicity, political parties, state politics, and money in politics, Kira is the author and coauthor of numerous books and reports on women’s political representation. She received her Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As we work to elect more women to office, understanding who funds campaigns and what those patterns mean for women candidates is critical.