Speaking during a Tuesday event at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan discussed some of the problems he sees with the Republican Party under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

Hogan is considering a GOP primary challenge to the president.

With Trump, the GOP has “shrunk down into a percentage of white males,” Hogan said.

Though this statement may be a bit of an exaggeration, it is not without some merit. A quick check of the website history.house.gov shows some alarming numbers for the Republican Party. In 1995, 24 years ago to be exact, there were 18 Republican women in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since 1995, women have advanced in numbers in virtually all aspects of public life. This includes the fields of business, law, law enforcement, medicine, education, entertainment and government.

The dilemma for the Republicans is that a vast majority of the women who have become professionals since 1995 seem to be Democrats. One need only look at the House numbers to see this.

In 1995, the 18 GOP Congresswomen included Susan Molinari and Sue Kelly of New York, Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, Margaret Roukema of New Jersey, Connie Morella of Maryland, Jennifer Dunn of Washington, Deborah Pryce of Ohio, Helen Chenoweth of Idaho, Barbara Cubin of Wyoming, JoAnn Emerson of Missouri, Tillie Fowler of Florida, Enid Greene-Waldholtz of Utah, Jan Meyers of Kansas, Sue Myrick of North Carolina, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Andrea Seastrand of California, Linda Smith of Washington and Barbara Vuconovich of Nevada.

Twenty-four years later, there are only 13 GOP women in the House: Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Jaime Herrera-Beutler of Washington, Susan Brooks and Jackie Walorski of Indiana, Vicky Hartzler and Ann Wagner of Missouri, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, Kay Granger of Texas, Debbie Lesko of Arizona, Carol Miller of West Virginia, Martha Roby of Alabama and Elise Stefanik of New York.

We honestly struggle to think of another sector of the economy or government in which there are fewer women now than there were in 1995.

This erosion of Republican women in the House of Representatives also predates the Trump era of government. The GOP leadership must diagnose, acknowledge and address the party’s problems with women before it is too late.

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