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(New Mexico News Connection) When it comes to getting elected to statewide offices, women candidates face a disadvantage, a new study shows. Historically, many women haven't been able to match men's personal financial resources and don't get the big bucks male candidates do from donors.

Kira Sanbonmatsu, senior scholar with the Center for American Women in Politics, said when fewer women are elected to office because they're outspent by male candidates, it can create an underrepresentation of women's issues.

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"In past work, we've found that men are much more likely than women to be providing the funds that are fueling state candidates - at the state legislative races, statewide office such as governor," she explained.

New Mexico, ranked sixth in the nation for women state legislative representation, is something of an outlier compared to many other states. Women hold 20 seats in New Mexico's state House of Representatives and five Senate seats for a nearly 44 percent level of representation.

Data also suggest benefits of incumbency. Within both parties, women incumbents have an average higher amount raised than men, although Democratic women and men seeking re-election to the New Mexico state House have raised about the same amount.

"What we've been able to see so far is women can raise even more than men, in some cases - we're seeing that in a lot of that in the data - and this may reflect some differences in the monied networks that men and women have access to," Sanbonmatsu said.

In addition to voting, Sanbonmatsu said people could view giving money to political campaigns as a form of civic participation - especially if they want to see more women elected.