Poring over the list of candidates for the Idaho Legislature, Boise State political scientist Gary Moncrief finds a gender gap far more pronounced than the roughly 7 percent historical difference between women and men in presidential contests. "..(W)omen are three times more likely to run as a Democrat than as a Republican in Idaho," writes Moncrief in a weekend email. "In Idaho, it isn’t a gender gap; it’s a gender chasm." Friday was the final day to file for 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature, and Moncrief notes that 38 percent of Democratic candidates are women, compared to 13 percent of the Republican candidates. The proportion of women in the Legislature has fallen from 31 percent in 1992, when Idaho ranked No. 7 in the nation, to 27 percent in the current Legislature. With retirements and the new candidate roster, that figure appears likely to decline in the 2013 Legislature/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (Idaho Legislature photo: Sen. Nicole LeFavour, who is retiring from state Senate to run for Congress)

Question: Is this cause for concern?