More women are running for office in Kentucky's General Assembly than ever before, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State's office.
Nearly 100 women filed candidacy paperwork with Secretary Alison Lundergan Grimes' office ahead of Tuesday's deadline. Rachel Roberts, a small business owner, is one of them.
"The #metoo movement has given a lot of women that confidence to know that we have that amazing support system behind us that wants us to step up, that is championing for us, that is asking for us to start representing them," Roberts said.
Although the total beats any state record, according to Grimes, male candidates still outnumbered women four to one.
"I am so encouraged by the thousands of Kentuckians of all backgrounds who are stepping up and offering themselves for public service in 2018," Grimes said in a news release. "Our democracy is strengthened when more people are involved in the process -- not just voting, but serving."
Only 11 non-incumbent women ran in 2016; only three ran in 2014. This year, 70 female first-timers are throwing their hats in the ring.
"I think it's fantastic," Roberts said. "I think it's way overdue. My question to all of us is, why did we wait so long?"
Kentucky's 2018 primary ballot features six U.S. House of Representatives seats, 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives and seats in seven districts in the Kentucky Senate.
Voters will also cast ballots for Kentucky's District Judges, Commonwealth Attorneys, Circuit Court Clerks and one Kentucky Supreme Court Justice. County and city officials are also up for election.
