As of January 10, 2023, 49 women have served or are serving as the governor of a U.S. state (2 acting governors due to vacancies) and 3 women have served or are serving as the governor of an unincorporated U.S. territory. 2 women have served or are serving as Mayor of the District of Columbia. Currently, 12 women are serving as governors of U.S. states, along with the Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser and territorial governor Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam. Of the current state governors, 8 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans.
Madeleine Kunin is the oldest living former female governor at 90.
The first woman to act as governor was Carolyn B. Shelton, who served as Acting Governor of Oregon for one weekend – 9 a.m. Saturday, February 27, through 10 a.m. Monday, March 1, 1909. The outgoing governor, George Earle Chamberlain, had been elected to the U.S. Senate and had to leave for Washington, D.C., before his term was over; the incoming governor, Frank W. Benson, had become ill and could not assume office early. Chamberlain left Shelton, his secretary, in charge for the weekend. [1] It was another three and a half years before women were allowed to vote in Oregon. [2] [lower-alpha 1]
The first woman acting governor to be entrusted with substantial duties while in office was Soledad Chávez de Chacón, who held the powers and duties of Governor of New Mexico for two weeks in 1924 while Governor James F. Hinkle attended the Democratic Convention in New York. Lieutenant Governor José A. Baca had died in May, so Chacón, the Secretary of State, filled the position. Chacón said that she believed that her 1924 elevation was the first time in the United States that a woman had been called on to assume the responsibilities of the governor. [4]
The first woman to assume office as governor pursuant to a special election was Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming (widow of late Governor William B. Ross, served from January 1923 to October 1924), who was elected on November 4, 1924, and sworn in on January 5, 1925. [5] Wyoming was the first state to provide women's suffrage [6] after New Jersey had abolished it in 1807. Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas won the general election of November 3, 1924, and was sworn in on January 20, 1925. Her husband, former governor James Edward Ferguson, had been impeached and removed from office in 1917. [7] The first woman elected governor who was not the wife or widow of a past state governor was Ella T. Grasso of Connecticut, elected in 1974 and sworn in on January 8, 1975. [8]
To date, no woman has ever changed parties during her gubernatorial term or has been elected as a third party member or an independent.
Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, and New Mexico are the only states to have elected women as governors from both major parties. Arizona was the first state where a woman followed another woman as governor (they were from different parties). Arizona also has had the most with five, and is the first state to have three women in a row serve as governor.
A record 12 out of 50 state governorships are currently held by women following Sarah Huckabee Sanders inauguration as Governor of Arkansas on January 10, 2023.
Eighteen states have never had a female governor: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Four states (Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Utah) have never seen a major party nominate a woman in a gubernatorial election, although one woman has served as governor of Utah and nine consecutive lieutenant governors have been women in Minnesota, from 1983 to the present day. [9]
Three women of color have been state governors: Susana Martinez and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico (both Hispanic) and Nikki Haley of South Carolina (Indian American). Martinez and Haley are both Republican; Lujan Grisham is a Democrat. Additionally, all five women who governed an insular area have been of an ethnic minority group: Sharon Pratt and Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. (both African American), Sila María Calderón and Wanda Vázquez Garced of Puerto Rico (both Hispanic) and Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam (Pacific Islander), all Democratic, with the exception of Vázquez Garced, who is a Republican.
Starting | Total | Graph |
---|---|---|
March 4, 1789 | 0 | |
January 5, 1925 | 1 | ❚ |
January 20, 1925 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 3, 1927 | 1 | ❚ |
January 17, 1927 | 0 | |
January 17, 1933 | 1 | ❚ |
January 15, 1935 | 0 | |
January 16, 1967 | 1 | ❚ |
May 7, 1968 | 0 | |
January 8, 1975 | 1 | ❚ |
January 12, 1977 | 2 | ❚❚ |
December 31, 1980 | 1 | ❚ |
January 14, 1981 | 0 | |
December 13, 1983 | 1 | ❚ |
January 10, 1985 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 9, 1987 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
December 8, 1987 | 2 | ❚❚ |
April 4, 1988 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
January 9, 1991 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 10, 1991 | 1 | ❚ |
January 14, 1991 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
January 15, 1991 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
March 6, 1991 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
January 18, 1994 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 9, 1995 | 2 | ❚❚ |
January 17, 1995 | 1 | ❚ |
January 9, 1997 | 2 | ❚❚ |
September 5, 1997 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
December 31, 1998 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 11, 1999 | 3 | ❚❚❚ |
January 1, 2001 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 3, 2001 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 31, 2001 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
April 10, 2001 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
December 2, 2002 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 1, 2003 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 2, 2003 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 9, 2003 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 13, 2003 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
November 5, 2003 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 12, 2004 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
July 1, 2004 | 9 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 3, 2005 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 12, 2005 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
December 4, 2006 | 9 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 14, 2008 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 10, 2009 | 9 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 20, 2009 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
April 28, 2009 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
July 26, 2009 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
December 6, 2010 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 5, 2011 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 10, 2011 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 12, 2011 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 3, 2013 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 5, 2013 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 16, 2013 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 5, 2015 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
January 6, 2015 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
February 16, 2015 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 2, 2017 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 24, 2017 | 4 | ❚❚❚❚ |
April 10, 2017 | 5 | ❚❚❚❚❚ |
May 24, 2017 | 6 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 1, 2019 | 7 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 2, 2019 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 5, 2019 | 9 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
March 2, 2021 | 8 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
August 24, 2021 | 9 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 2, 2023 | 10 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 5, 2023 | 11 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
January 10, 2023 | 12 | ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ |
Image | Name (lifespan) | State | Term start | Term end | Party | Notes | Departure | Time in office | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Nellie Ross (1876–1977) | ![]() | January 5, 1925 | January 3, 1927 | Democratic | Only woman as Governor of Wyoming. First woman elected in a special election. | Lost reelection | 1 year, 363 days | [10] |
![]() | Miriam A. Ferguson (1875–1961) | ![]() | January 20, 1925 | January 17, 1927 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Texas. First woman elected in a general election. First woman to serve non-consecutive terms as Governor. | Lost renomination | 1 year, 362 days | [11] |
January 17, 1933 | January 15, 1935 | Retired | 1 year, 363 days | ||||||
![]() | Lurleen Wallace (1926–1968) | ![]() | January 16, 1967 | May 7, 1968 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Alabama. First and only woman to die in office as governor. | Died in office | 1 year, 112 days | |
![]() | Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981) | ![]() | January 8, 1975 | December 31, 1980 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Connecticut. | Resigned | 5 years, 358 days | [12] |
![]() | Dixy Lee Ray (1914–1994) | ![]() | January 12, 1977 | January 14, 1981 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Washington. | Lost renomination | 4 years, 2 days | [13] |
![]() | Vesta M. Roy (1925–2002) | ![]() | December 29, 1982 | January 6, 1983 | Republican | First and only woman as Acting Governor of New Hampshire. Elevated while President of the Senate. Shortest serving female governor. | Acting governor replaced upon inauguration of a full governor [lower-alpha 2] | 8 days | |
![]() | Martha Collins (born 1936) | ![]() | December 13, 1983 | December 8, 1987 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Kentucky. | Term-limited | 3 years, 360 days | [14] |
![]() | Madeleine Kunin (born 1933) | ![]() | January 10, 1985 | January 10, 1991 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Vermont. First foreign-born woman as governor. | Retired | 6 years, 0 days | [15] |
![]() | Kay A. Orr (born 1939) | ![]() | January 9, 1987 | January 9, 1991 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Nebraska. First woman elected to a governorship over another woman nominated by a major party. First Republican woman elected to a governorship. [lower-alpha 3] | Lost reelection | 4 years, 0 days | [16] |
![]() | Rose Mofford (1922–2016) | ![]() | April 4, 1988 | March 6, 1991 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Arizona. Elevated from Secretary of State. | Retired | 2 years, 336 days | [17] |
Joan Finney (1925–2001) | ![]() | January 14, 1991 | January 9, 1995 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Kansas. First woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election. | Retired | 3 years, 360 days | [18] | |
![]() | Barbara Roberts (born 1936) | ![]() | January 14, 1991 | January 9, 1995 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Oregon. | Retired | 3 years, 360 days | |
![]() | Ann Richards (1933–2006) | ![]() | January 15, 1991 | January 17, 1995 | Democratic | Lost reelection | 4 years, 2 days | [19] | |
![]() | Christine Todd Whitman (born 1946) | ![]() | January 18, 1994 | January 31, 2001 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of New Jersey. First Republican woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election. | Resigned to become EPA Administrator | 7 years, 13 days | [20] |
![]() | Jeanne Shaheen (born 1947) | ![]() | January 9, 1997 | January 9, 2003 | Democratic | First woman elected Governor of New Hampshire. [lower-alpha 3] First woman elected as both Governor and U.S. Senator. | Retired | 6 years, 0 days | [22] [23] |
![]() | Jane Dee Hull (1935–2020) | ![]() | September 5, 1997 | January 6, 2003 | Republican | Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right. | Term-limited | 5 years, 123 days | |
![]() | Nancy Hollister (born 1949) | ![]() | December 31, 1998 | January 11, 1999 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Ohio. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. | Term ended | 11 days | |
![]() | Judy Martz (1943–2017) | ![]() | January 1, 2001 | January 3, 2005 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Montana. | Retired | 4 years, 2 days | |
![]() | Ruth Ann Minner (1935–2021) | ![]() | January 3, 2001 | January 20, 2009 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Delaware. Longest serving female governor. | Term-limited | 8 years, 17 days | |
![]() | Jane Swift (born 1965) | ![]() | April 10, 2001 | January 2, 2003 | Republican | First woman as Acting Governor of Massachusetts. Elevated to acting governor while Lieutenant Governor. First to give birth while in office. [24] | Retired | 1 year, 267 days | |
![]() | Linda Lingle (born 1953) | ![]() | December 2, 2002 | December 6, 2010 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Hawaii. | Term-limited | 8 years, 4 days | |
![]() | Jennifer Granholm (born 1959) | ![]() | January 1, 2003 | January 1, 2011 | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Michigan. | Term-limited | 8 years, 0 days | |
![]() | Janet Napolitano (born 1957) | ![]() | January 6, 2003 | January 21, 2009 | Democratic | First woman to succeed another woman | Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security | 6 years, 15 days | |
![]() | Kathleen Sebelius (born 1948) | ![]() | January 13, 2003 | April 28, 2009 | Democratic | First governor who is the daughter of a former governor | Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services | 6 years, 105 days | |
| Olene Walker (1930–2015) | ![]() | November 5, 2003 | January 3, 2005 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Utah. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. | Lost nomination for full term | 1 year, 59 days | |
![]() | Kathleen Blanco (1942–2019) | ![]() | January 12, 2004 | January 14, 2008 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Louisiana. | Retired | 4 years, 2 days | |
![]() | Jodi Rell (born 1946) | ![]() | July 1, 2004 | January 5, 2011 | Republican | Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. | Retired | 6 years, 188 days | |
![]() | Christine Gregoire (born 1947) | ![]() | January 12, 2005 | January 16, 2013 | Democratic | Retired | 8 years, 4 days | ||
![]() | Sarah Palin (born 1964) | ![]() | December 4, 2006 | July 26, 2009 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Alaska | Resigned | 2 years, 234 days | |
![]() | Bev Perdue (born 1947) | ![]() | January 10, 2009 | January 5, 2013 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of North Carolina. | Retired | 3 years, 361 days | |
![]() | Jan Brewer (born 1944) | ![]() | January 21, 2009 | January 5, 2015 | Republican | Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right. | Retired | 5 years, 349 days | |
![]() | Susana Martinez (born 1959) | ![]() | January 1, 2011 | January 1, 2019 | Republican | First woman as Governor of New Mexico. First Latina serving as Governor of a U.S. state. | Term-limited | 8 years, 0 days | |
![]() | Mary Fallin (born 1954) | ![]() | January 10, 2011 | January 14, 2019 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of Oklahoma. | Term-limited | 8 years, 4 days | |
![]() | Nikki Haley (born 1972) | ![]() | January 12, 2011 | January 24, 2017 | Republican | First and only woman as Governor of South Carolina. First Indian American woman serving as governor. | Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | 6 years, 12 days | |
![]() | Maggie Hassan (born 1958) | ![]() | January 3, 2013 | January 2, 2017 | Democratic | Resigned to become a U.S. Senator. | 3 years, 365 days | ||
![]() | Gina Raimondo (born 1971) | ![]() | January 6, 2015 | March 2, 2021 | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Rhode Island. | Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce | 6 years, 55 days | [25] |
![]() | Kate Brown (born 1960) | ![]() | February 18, 2015 | January 9, 2023 | Democratic | First openly bisexual governor and first openly LGBT elected governor. Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right. | Term-limited | 7 years, 325 days | |
![]() | Kay Ivey (born 1944) | ![]() | April 10, 2017 | Incumbent | Republican | Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. | Serving | 7 years, 123 days | [26] |
![]() | Kim Reynolds (born 1959) | ![]() | May 24, 2017 | Incumbent | Republican | First woman as Governor of Iowa. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. | Serving | 7 years, 79 days | [27] |
![]() | Gretchen Whitmer (born 1971) | ![]() | January 1, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | Serving | 5 years, 223 days | ||
![]() | Michelle Lujan Grisham (born 1959) | ![]() | January 1, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | Serving | 5 years, 223 days | ||
![]() | Janet Mills (born 1947) | ![]() | January 2, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | First woman as Governor of Maine. | Serving | 5 years, 222 days | |
![]() | Kristi Noem (born 1971) | ![]() | January 5, 2019 | Incumbent | Republican | First woman as Governor of South Dakota. | Serving | 5 years, 219 days | |
![]() | Laura Kelly (born 1950) | ![]() | January 14, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | Serving | 5 years, 210 days | ||
![]() | Kathy Hochul (born 1958) | ![]() | August 24, 2021 | Incumbent | Democratic | First woman as Governor of New York. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. | Serving | 2 years, 353 days | |
![]() | Katie Hobbs (born 1969) | ![]() | January 2, 2023 | Incumbent | Democratic | Serving | 1 year, 222 days | ||
![]() | Maura Healey (born 1971) | ![]() | January 5, 2023 | Incumbent | Democratic | First woman elected as Governor of Massachusetts. First openly lesbian governor. | Serving | 1 year, 219 days | |
![]() | Tina Kotek (born 1966) | ![]() | January 9, 2023 | Incumbent | Democratic | First openly LGBT governor to succeed another openly LGBT governor. | Serving | 1 year, 215 days | |
![]() | Sarah Huckabee Sanders (born 1982) | ![]() | January 10, 2023 | Incumbent | Republican | First woman as Governor of Arkansas. | Serving | 1 year, 214 days |
Party | Total number | Number of incumbents |
---|---|---|
Democratic | 30 | 8 |
Republican | 19 | 4 |
Total: | 49 | 12 |
# of governors | States | # of states |
---|---|---|
5 | Arizona | 1 |
3 | Kansas, New Hampshire, Oregon | 3 |
2 | Alabama, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Washington | 7 |
1 | Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming | 21 |
0 | California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin | 18 |
Governors who have been pregnant while in office | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Governor | State | Date of delivery | Mother's age | Notes |
Jane Swift | Massachusetts | May 14, 2001 | 36 | First sitting governor or acting governor to give birth while in office. Gave birth to twin girls one month into her tenure as acting governor. [28] |
Sarah Palin | Alaska | April 18, 2008 | 44 | First elected sitting governor to give birth while in office. Gave birth to son, Trig while in office. [29] |
Image | Name (lifespan) | Jurisdiction | Term start | Term end | Party | Notes | Departure |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Sharon Pratt (born 1944) | ![]() | January 2, 1991 | January 2, 1995 | Democratic | First African American woman elected mayor of a major city. First woman as Mayor of the District of Columbia. | Lost renomination |
![]() | Sila Calderón (born 1942) | ![]() | January 2, 2001 | January 2, 2005 | Popular Democratic/ Democratic | First woman as Governor of Puerto Rico. First Hispanic American woman as governor. | Retired |
![]() | Muriel Bowser (born 1972) | ![]() | January 2, 2015 | Incumbent | Democratic | Serving | |
![]() | Lou Leon Guerrero (born 1950) | ![]() | January 7, 2019 | Incumbent | Democratic | First and only woman as Governor of Guam. First Pacific Islander American woman as governor. | Serving |
![]() | Wanda Vázquez Garced (born 1960) | ![]() | August 7, 2019 | January 2, 2021 | New Progressive/ Republican | Elevated from Secretary of Justice when Pedro Pierluisi was removed quo warranto . | Lost renomination |
Party | Total number | Number of incumbents |
---|---|---|
Democratic | 4 | 2 |
Republican | 1 | 0 |
Total: | 5 | 2 |
Incumbent governors are in bold.
Elections with two female major party nominees | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Election year | State | Winner | Second place finisher | Other female candidate(s) |
1986 | Nebraska | Kay A. Orr | Helen Boosalis | |
2002 | Hawaii | Linda Lingle | Mazie Hirono | |
2010 | New Mexico | Susana Martinez | Diane Denish | |
Oklahoma | Mary Fallin | Jari Askins | ||
2022 | Alabama | Kay Ivey | Yolanda Flowers | |
Arizona | Katie Hobbs | Kari Lake | ||
Iowa | Kim Reynolds | Deidre DeJear | ||
Michigan | Gretchen Whitmer | Tudor Dixon | ||
Oregon | Tina Kotek | Christine Drazan | Betsy Johnson |
Nellie Davis Ross was an American educator and politician who served as the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and as the 28th and first female director of the United States Mint from 1933 to 1953. She was the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state, and remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming. She was a Democrat and supported Prohibition. She ran for re-election but refused to campaign herself.
Ella Rosa Giovianna Oliva Grasso was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 83rd Governor of Connecticut from January 8, 1975, to December 31, 1980, after rejecting past offers of candidacies for Senate and Governor. She was the first woman elected Governor in Connecticut and the fourth woman to be elected governor of a U.S. state. Her supporters contend she is the first elected without having been the spouse or widow of a former governor. She resigned as governor due to her battle with ovarian cancer.
Barbara Kay Roberts is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first woman elected to serve as Oregon governor, and the only woman elected to that office until 2016. A Democrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority leader in the Oregon House of Representatives. She also won two terms as Oregon Secretary of State, and served in local and county government in Portland. Roberts was married to Oregon state Sen. Frank L. Roberts from 1974 until his death in 1993. From February 2011 until January 2013, she served on the council of Metro, the regional government in the Portland metropolitan area.
Miriam Amanda "Ma" Ferguson was an American politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Texas: from 1925 to 1927, and from 1933 to 1935. She was the first female governor of Texas, and the second woman to be governor of any U.S. state, after Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming.
James Edward Ferguson Jr., known as Pa Ferguson, was an American Democratic politician and the 26th governor of Texas, in office from 1915 to 1917. He was indicted and impeached during his second term, forced to resign and barred from holding further Texas office.
This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states represented by women in the Senate. The first female U.S. senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922, and the first woman elected to the Senate, Hattie Caraway, was elected from Arkansas in 1932. Sixty women have served in the upper house of the United States Congress since its establishment in 1789. As of October 3, 2023, there are 25 women serving as U.S. senators out of 100 possible seats. Additionally, Kamala Harris as vice president serves as President of the Senate.
Abner Linwood Holton Jr. was an American politician and attorney. He served as the 61st governor of Virginia, from 1970 to 1974, and was the first elected Republican governor of Virginia of the 20th century. He was known for supporting civil rights, integration, and public investment.
Hugh Joseph Gallen was an American automobile dealer and Democratic politician from Littleton, New Hampshire. After serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, he served as the 74th governor of New Hampshire from 1979 until his death in 1982.
Vesta M. Roy was a Republican New Hampshire politician. She was the first woman to ever serve as the President of The New Hampshire Senate, Acting Governor, and Governor of New Hampshire. Her brief time as Governor was a complicated New Hampshire Constitutional set of events that unfolded when the sitting, post-election, outgoing governor fell ill and died just prior to the end of his term in January, 1983.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as head of state and head of government therein. While like all officials in the United States, checks and balances are placed on the office the governor, significant powers may include, ceremonial head of state, executive, legislative, judicial, and military. As such, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes. Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was directly succeeded by their widow, either through election or direct appointment to the seat. Many of the earliest women to hold political office in the modern era attained their positions through this practice. It also occurred when politicians stood down from a particular office.
A lieutenant governor is an official in state governments of 45 out of 50 of the United States. In most cases, the lieutenant governor is the highest officer of state after the governor, standing in for that officer when they are absent from the state or temporarily incapacitated. In the event a governor dies, resigns or is removed from office, the lieutenant governor typically becomes governor.
The 2016 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the presidential election, while Republicans retained control of Congress. This marked the first and most recent time Republicans won or held unified control of the presidency and Congress since 2004.
Soledad Chávez de Chacón was the first woman elected to be the Secretary of State of New Mexico, and the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in the United States. She served as acting Governor of New Mexico for two weeks in 1924, becoming the second woman to act as chief executive of a U.S. state.
Carolyn Bertha Shelton was the long-serving private secretary of the governor of Oregon and United States senator George Earle Chamberlain. From February 27 to March 1, 1909, she served as acting governor in Chamberlain's absence, making her the first woman to serve as acting governor of a U.S. state. She performed only routine duties during that time. She and Chamberlain married in 1926, after the death of his first wife; he died two years later.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in the 2018 U.S. gubernatorial elections. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.
The 1924 Wyoming special gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1924. William B. Ross, the Democratic Governor of Wyoming, died in office on October 2, 1924, temporarily elevating Republican Secretary of State Frank Lucas to the governorship. A special election was held to fill the remainder of Ross's term and his widow, Nellie Tayloe Ross, defeated Republican nominee E. J. Sullivan in a landslide becoming the first ever female governor of any U.S. state.