Experience, Gender, and Electoral Payoffs: Gendered Careers of Spitzenkandidaten in Austrian and German Länder Elections

Prior research argues that women candidates are held to higher standards than their men colleagues, often requiring longer or more substantial political careers before being considered for prestigious positions. Yet most evidence of such gendered penalties or rewards is based on successful national-level politicians, leaving limited knowledge about unsuccessful candidates and very little comparative analysis especially at the subnational level. To contribute to closing this research gap, this study answers the research questions of how does political experience of top candidates (Spitzenkandidaten) from the Bundesländer in Austria and Germany influence electoral success, and to what extent do these effects differ between men and women. I argue that that experience generally enhances a party’s electoral performance, but that the magnitude of this benefit is smaller for women due to persistent gender biases in political evaluation and party opportunity structures. Drawing on career data of more than 500 Spitzenkandidaten from 29 parties across 108 state elections, the analysis demonstrates that experienced candidates indeed generate measurable electoral advantages. However, these experience-based gains are conditioned by gender: women top candidates are disproportionately nominated by smaller parties with limited prospects of electoral success and are less likely to lead parties positioned to win. These findings deepen understanding of how candidate career profiles shape electoral outcomes and contribute to broader debates on gender, party strategy, and the advancement of women in political leadership within multiparty parliamentary systems.