In all, when the remaining elections have been completed, there will have been at least a 25 percent jump in female mayors in the top 100 cities since last year. Since 2011, this jump is 177 percent. These mayoral candidates’ political ascent shouldn’t be conflated with their gender, but their particular paths do reveal something about the future of women’s representation in local office—where ceilings are shattering, where barriers remain, and why.