Аннотация:One of the earliest paths to power for women in the United States Congress was through political widowhood. In fact, this route to office still exists today. While literature on widows primarily explores factors associated with their entrances into Congress, this article examines their actions once in office by comparing their behavior to that of their late husbands. Specific questions explored include: do widows share the same political ideologies as their husbands? Do they vote differently on policy issues, particularly those considered important to women? Are they more likely to sponsor women's issues bills? Examining differences among these pairs offers a unique test for assessing the potential gender differences between male and female legislators. Thus its significance extends beyond the literature on political widows, and adds to the growing research assessing the impact of gender on the substantive representation of women.
