Iowa women are outpacing men in political fundraising, according to a new report by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women in Politics. Of the top 25 fundraisers in Iowa’s 2018 Legislative races, 15 were women.

A record number of women were elected to the Iowa Legislature last year, and the research says strong fundraising ahead of the election may have played a role. 

On average, a Democratic woman running for the Iowa House raised about $13,000 more than her male counterpart did, and the average Republican woman raised a whopping $117,000 more than the average male Republican Iowa House candidate did. Women running as challengers in open-seat races also fared particularly well, according to the Catt Center.

Three of the top five fundraisers for the Iowa House were women: Republican Linda Upmeyer and Democrats Heather Matson and Kristin Sunde. All three won their races. In the Iowa Senate, Republicans Chris Cournoyer and Carrie Koelker, as well as Democrat Amber Gustafson, were among the top five fundraisers. Cournoyer and Koelker both won their races, and Gustafson lost to an incumbent by 3 percentage points. 

The Catt Center’s research examined campaign and expenditure reports from 2008. The reports are available on the center’s research page.