By Anna Brand, MSNBC – Alison Lundergan Grimes may be Kentucky’s best known Democratic woman running for office this year. But she is hardly alone: 31 progressive women candidates, hand-picked and trained by Emerge Kentucky, have filed for elective office in the Bluegrass State this year.

The Democratic Party is banking on their success. For the first time in nearly 100 years, control of the Kentucky statehouse is up for grabs. Eight female candidates represent the Democratic Party’s best hope to retain the majority, no longer a safe bet as Republicans have increased their numbers in recent years.

Two dozen other Democratic women are running in city and county races. All of them graduated from a program run by Emerge Kentucky, part of Emerge America, a national organization working in 14 different states to prepare women to run for office.

“In a lot of cases, women have the edge,” said former Secretary of State Elaine Walker, a Democrat. “As usual, people are not happy with politics, and when you see a woman running, there’s this feeling like ‘oh, good, there’s not going to be an all boys’ network again.’”

An all-boys network is what Kentucky currently has in Washington.

Most women don’t know that when women run, they’re just as likely as men to win.

Elisabeth Jensen is challenging freshman Republican Rep. Andy Barr for Kentucky’s 6th Congressional District. If Jensen wins, she will crack the state’s all-male representation in the House as Grimes hopes to do if she takes the senate seat currently held by Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell.

via The other Kentucky women posing a threat to Republicans | MSNBC.