PHOENIX (AP) -- Women running for office have crossed another threshold with a record number of candidates for the U.S. Senate.
Actually winning those seats and changing the face of the chamber are a different matter. Many of the women jumping into Senate races face uphill campaigns. Two female senators, both Democrats, could lose their re-election bids, possibly leaving the Senate more male-dominated than before.
In Wisconsin on Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican state Sen. Leah Vukmir are expected to file for the state's Senate race. That would bring to 42 the number of women in the two major parties -- the most ever -- qualified to run for 19 seats in the Senate.
Today, 23 women are senators. In its history, the Senate has only seated 52 female members.
