Baby Slump: The Political Consequences of Pregnancy for Candidates

Abstract Do women candidate’s parental status, whether childfree, pregnant, or a mother, influence how U.S. voters evaluate their leadership, commitment, and policy expertise at the state executive and legislative levels? Using data from a nationally representative survey experiment, I assess how voters rate these candidates’ competencies. Regardless of partisanship, I find voters reduce support for pregnant candidates, particularly at the executive level, due to concerns about time availability. I also discover a parenthood timing gap effect — while pregnancy is perceived as a limitation to do the job as an elected official, having young children as a mother enhances leadership evaluations, at least among Democrats. A partisan divide emerges, with Democrats rating maternal-cuing candidates higher on leadership competencies compared to Republicans. This research has important implications for how candidates need to strategize their presentation as we see more women and (expecting) mothers run for all types of office.