Nowhere to Run introduces the intersectional model of electoral opportunity, which argues that descriptive representation in elections is shaped by intersecting processes related to race and gender. Across states, realistic opportunities for potential candidates of color to get on state legislative ballots are sharply circumscribed by the distribution of white majority populations in most districts; and within the districts that are most widely viewed as winnable seats-majority minority districts-the perceived scarcity of viable electoral opportunities exacerbates factors that tend to push women of color farther from the candidate pipeline. These overlapping constraints result in an electoral landscape where women of color face constraints on electoral opportunity that are intersecting and multilayered.
Drawing on an original dataset encompassing nearly every state legislative general election from 1996-2015, as well as interviews and surveys with candidates, donors, and other political elites from 42 states, Nowhere to Run tests this theory with a first of its kind study of Asian American and Latina/o candidacies, and the first simultaneous look at the relationship between changing populations and descriptive representation for African American, Asian American, Latina/o, and white women and men. The book sheds new light on how multiple dimensions of identity simultaneously shape pathways to candidacy and representation for all groups seeking a seat at the table in American politics.

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