At the dawn of the new millennium, only twenty-five percent of elected state legislators were female, only five states had female governors, and a mere fourteen percent of the members of Congress were women. Extrapolating from data on women candidates in Congressional races from 1956 to 2002, Palmer and Simon explore how incumbency, social attitudes, and electoral strategy affect women's decisions to run for office. They dispel myths distorting our understanding of women candidates and challenge the reigning theories accounting for the low number of female Congress members. Breaking the Political Glass Ceiling is the most comprehensive analysis of women in Congressional elections available.