We recruit outstanding women candidates for open and flippable state legislative seats.
Our targeted, research-backed strategy is nationally recognized as a model to achieve values-driven gender parity in politics.
After a decade of transformative results in California, Close the Gap is expanding to make a national impact! Our team is recruiting today for 2028 and 2030 Ohio legislative races.
The time is right for change.
- Right now only 34.8% of legislators are women, and only 8% are women of color.
- But more than 30 seats will be open in 2028 and 2030 due to term limits, most of which are in blue or purple districts.
This is an opportunity to advance truly reflective representation, if we ensure talented progressive women are positioned to take advantage of every open and flippable seat.
State and local offices are decisive battlegrounds for our democracy–and they serve as the talent pipeline for federal office. The women Close the Gap knows how to recruit can close representation gaps and leverage legislative turnover to accelerate progress on high-stakes policy issues and improve the national political outlook by 2030.
Conservative white men are grossly overrepresented in Ohio’s Legislature. High-profile policy debates such as the 2023 reproductive freedom initiative that codified abortion rights demonstrate that Ohioans are often more moderate than the state’s conservative leadership.
Organizations such as LEAD Ohio have laid critical groundwork and impacted the pipeline with a robust training infrastructure. Now with the help of local partners, it’s time for Close the Gap to build on that foundation with our proven, targeted recruiting strategy.
