By Katie Stoner

Spending GOTV weekend in New Hampshire canvassing, phone banking, and campaigning for Ann McLane Kuster was one of the most fulfilling and enlightening experiences of my life.  To me, Kuster, or Annie as I came to know her, was one of the most exceptional candidates running in 2010. And as a young woman who dreams of some day holding political office, she is a role model.  A pro-choice, Democratic woman, Kuster would have brought a new face to Washington and new approach to the political arena.  Her enthusiasm towards creating a better political, economic, and social environment for families across our country was contagious, and her readiness to reform “politics as usual” into something that would work to create better lives for all Americans was inspiring.  When she spoke, she held the audience’s attention in the palm of her hand, and when I looked into her eyes, I could see the sparkle of a courageous, determined individual.

But this was just not to be her year.

The district Kuster ran in, New Hampshire’s 2^nd, falls into the type Patchwork Nation calls Established Wealth. And as it was in many Established Wealth districts the vote was close, but Kuster was unable to overcome the downward pull of the economy and lost by a few percentage points. Established Wealth districts weren’t as bad as others for the Democrats, but there was enough economic pain in them to push many of those closely-fought races to the GOP.

So, despite CNN’s report that she ran a “perfect” campaign and my awe-filled description of her candidacy, Kuster failed to capture a victory in New Hampshire’s second.  Kuster, and the women like her who ran and lost this cycle, would have made our representative democracy more representative. Although studies have shown that female candidates are just as likely as male candidates to win an election, women typically don’t run for office as often as men – keeping politics more of a boys club.

Women generally are less likely than men to be encouraged to run for political office, less likely to believe they are qualified to run, and more likely to feel a stronger obligation to their families.

In Kuster’s case, she was fighting against a very strong conservative tide. In another year she would have an excellent chance of winning in a moderate Established Wealth district like New Hampshire 2. But my concern is if women throughout our country see qualified, disciplined candidates like Kuster lose elections, what woman is going to feel accomplished enough to even throw her hat into a race?  They’d be forced to ask themselves: If someone like her can’t win, how could I?

It is going to take more than a few outstanding female candidates to encourage more women to run for office.  It is going to take time and encouragement from the upper levels of the two parties. It will take a country to hearten change, to encourage women to enter politics, and to create a fully representative democracy.