This cycle, voters continue to voice an anti-incumbent sentiment. Sometimes, this mood gives voters a strong appetite for “outsiders” who promise to break through political gridlock and challenge the status quo. This cycle, a number of high profile women candidates are currently running with an “outsider” profile.

Women candidates often benefit from this framing because voters still frequently associate women with honesty, collaboration, and community. When voters want to throw the current system out, a woman running as a first-time or challenger candidate may see a woman leader as the exact change they are looking for. Analysis of 2026 congressional primaries by CAWP shows that non-incumbent women candidates, and Democratic women in particular, won open-seat and challenger primaries at higher rates than any other subgroup.

Historically, BLFF research has shown that voters want women leaders to prove they can hit the ground running on day one. Unlike male candidates—whose qualifications are often assumed—women face a double standard. Voters don’t want a woman who they think needs ‘on-the-job training’; they look for immediate issue expertise, a concrete track record, and proof that women can deliver results. While male challengers can run purely on anti-establishment frustration, voters require women candidates to demonstrate day-one leadership readiness before supporting them.

Candidates like Dr. Amy Acton (D) in Ohio and Dr. Annie Andrews (D) in South Carolina, both medical doctors who haven’t held elected office before, have highlighted their medical expertise to position themselves as focused on real-world health outcomes rather than partisan politics. And yet despite an impressive resume and medical credentials, gubernatorial candidate Dr. Acton’s opponents undermined her record, portraying her (as described by The New York Times) as “scandalously underqualified.” To counter, she’s focused her policy on cost-of-living issues and highlighted healthcare affordability, arguing that her medical experience gives her direct insight into these issues. Dr. Annie Andrews was at times portrayed as a pediatrician who was “stepping out of her lane.” She framed her experience as a front-row seat to issues facing families like healthcare costs, gun violence, and childcare.

Helena Foulkes (D), former CEO of Hudson’s Bay and President of CVS, who is running for Governor in Rhode Island uses her executive management experience as credentials for managing a multi-billion-dollar state budget. Her primary opponent, Dan McKee, criticized her for a lack of governing experience, saying things in their debate like “she’s never plowed a street.”  Foulkes framed her outsider political status as a strength, touting her real-world management experience rather than being a career politician. She argued that leading 200,000 employees and managing multi-billion-dollar budgets proves she can handle complex state agencies. Her argument seemed to work: she defeated Dan McKee in the Rhode Island Gubernatorial primary.

Michele Tafoya (R), an Emmy winning Sunday Night Football reporter who is running for the Senate in Minnesota, leveraged her strong name recognition and communication skills to connect directly with voters and win a crowded primary. She has been criticized for a lack of governing experience and painted as an “out of touch” outsider who doesn’t understand working class concerns. She has countered by comparing her 30 year sports broadcasting career to government leadership: “I walked the sidelines when the pressure was mounting and the stakes were the highest. That job taught me about how leadership really works.”

We have seen other cycles where voters were looking to shake up the system, like in 2018 when a record number of Democratic women were elected to Congress and in 2020 when a wave of Republican women were sent to Congress. We will be watching to see if those trends repeat themselves in 2026.