List of female governors in the United States

Map of current governors by gender

States that have had female governors

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As of February 2015, thirty-nine women have served or are serving as the governor of a U.S. state (including one from the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and two Mayors of the District of Columbia). Currently, six women are serving as governors of U.S. states, along with Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser.

History

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 Senate and had to leave for Washington, D.C., before his term was over, and the incoming governor, Frank W. Benson, had gotten sick and couldn't assume office early. Chamberlain left Shelton, his "Chief of Staff," in charge for the weekend.^[1] Ironically enough, it would be another three and a half years before women would be allowed to vote in Oregon.^[2] (As a side note, Chamberlain and Shelton married each other 17 years later.^[3])

The first 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 2 weeks in 1924 while Governor James F. Hinkle attended the Democratic Convention in New York. Lieutenant Governor Jose A. Baca had died unexpectedly in May, so Chacón, the Secretary of State, filled the position. Chacón said she believed that her 1924 elevation was the first time in the U.S. that a woman had been called on to assume the responsibilities of governor.^[4]

The first woman to assume office as governor pursuant to an election was Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming (widow of late Governor William B. Ross, served 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. Elected on November 3, 1924, and sworn in on January 20, 1925, was Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas, whose husband, Governor James Edward Ferguson, had previously held the office but been impeached and removed from office in 1917.^[7] The first female governor elected without being 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]

Demographics

Connecticut and Arizona are the only two states to have elected female governors from both major parties. New Hampshire has also had female governors from both parties, but Republican Vesta M. Roy only served in the acting capacity for a short time. Arizona was the first state where a woman followed another woman as governor (they were from different parties). Arizona also has had the most female governors with a total of four, and is the first state to have three women in a row serve as governor.

On two different occasions, a record nine out of 50 state governorships were held by women: first, between December 4, 2006, when Sarah Palin was inaugurated as the first female governor of Alaska, and January 14, 2008, when Kathleen Blanco left office as governor of Louisiana, and second, between January 10, 2009, when Beverly Perdue was inaugurated as governor of North Carolina, and January 20, 2009, when Ruth Ann Minner retired as governor of Delaware.

The U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, though not states, have also had female chief executives: Governor Sila María Calderón and Mayors Sharon Pratt Kelly and Muriel Bowser, respectively.

A total of 23 states have never had a female governor. Those states are: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 9 of these states' major parties - Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah - have never nominated a female candidate for gubernatorial elections, even though Minnesota has elected 7 consecutive female lieutenant governors to office since 1982 to the present day.^[9]

List of female state governors

Current

Picture	Name	State	From	To	Party	Notes
	Gina Raimondo	Rhode Island	2015	Incumbent	Democratic	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Rhode Island.
	Kate Brown	Oregon	2015	Incumbent	Democratic	As Secretary of State, she succeeded to the office when Governor John Kitzhaber resigned and won the 2016 special election to complete the term. Second woman to serve as Governor of Oregon and first openly bisexual United States governor.
	Maggie Hassan	New Hampshire	2013	Incumbent	Democratic	Second woman elected to serve as Governor of New Hampshire.
	Mary Fallin	Oklahoma	2011	Incumbent	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Oklahoma. Prior to her election to the governorship, she was Oklahoma's first female Lieutenant Governor.
	Nikki Haley	South Carolina	2011	Incumbent	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of South Carolina. First non-white Governor of South Carolina. First female Indian American (and Asian American) governor. Also (as of January 2015), the youngest current governor.
	Susana Martinez	New Mexico	2011	Incumbent	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of New Mexico. First female Hispanic American Governor outside Puerto Rico.

Former

Picture	Name	State	From	To	Party	Notes	Departure
	Nellie Tayloe Ross	Wyoming	1925	1927	Democratic	Widow of Governor William B. Ross (1923–1924). First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Wyoming.	Defeated for reelection.
	Miriam A. Ferguson	Texas	1925 1933	1927 1935	Democratic	Wife of Governor James E. Ferguson (1915–1917). First woman to serve as Governor of Texas.	Retired
	Lurleen Wallace	Alabama	1967	1968	Democratic	Wife of Governor George Wallace (1963–1967, 1971–1979, & 1983–1987). First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Alabama. First female governor elected from the Deep South. First (and only to date) female governor to die in office.	Died in Office
	Ella T. Grasso	Connecticut	1975	1980	Democratic	First female governor not a wife or widow of a previous governor. First woman to serve as Governor of Connecticut. First woman governor in the United States to be elected to two consecutive terms, and the first to resign (terminal ovarian cancer).	Resigned
	Dixy Lee Ray	Washington	1977	1981	Democratic	First woman to serve as Governor of Washington.	Lost renomination
	Vesta M. Roy	New Hampshire	1982	1983	Republican	Acting governor for a single week, never sworn in.	Retired
	Martha Layne Collins	Kentucky	1983	1987	Democratic	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Kentucky.	Retired
	Madeleine M. Kunin	Vermont	1985	1991	Democratic	First female Jewish Governor of any state. First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Vermont.	Retired
	Kay A. Orr	Nebraska	1987	1991	Republican	First Republican woman elected governor. First woman elected governor over another female major party candidate. First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Nebraska.	Defeated for reelection.
	Rose Perica Mofford	Arizona	1988	1991	Democratic	First woman to serve as Governor of Arizona. As Secretary of State, succeeded to the governorship following the impeachment and removal of previous Governor Evan Mecham.	Retired
	Joan Finney	Kansas	1991	1995	Democratic	First woman to serve as Governor of Kansas. First woman to defeat an incumbent Governor in a general election.	Retired
	Ann Richards	Texas	1991	1995	Democratic	Second female Governor of Texas.	Defeated
	Barbara Roberts	Oregon	1991	1995	Democratic	First woman to serve and to be elected as Governor of Oregon.	Retired
	Christine Todd Whitman	New Jersey	1994	2001	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of New Jersey. First Republican woman to defeat an incumbent Governor in a general election.	Resigned
	Jane Dee Hull	Arizona	1997	2003	Republican	First Republican woman to serve as Governor of Arizona. First woman to be elected Governor in Arizona. As Secretary of State, she had succeeded Fife Symington following his resignation, and was elected in her own right in 1998.	Retired
	Jeanne Shaheen	New Hampshire	1997	2003	Democratic	First woman elected to serve as Governor of New Hampshire.	Retired
	Nancy P. Hollister	Ohio	1998	1999	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Ohio. As Lt. Governor, succeeded to the office when Governor George Voinovich resigned. She was governor for 12 days.	Retired
	Jane Swift	Massachusetts	2001	2003	Republican	Acting governor. At age 36, youngest female governor in US history.[10] First governor to give birth while in office (to twins).	Retired
	Judy Martz	Montana	2001	2005	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Montana.	Retired
	Ruth Ann Minner	Delaware	2001	2009	Democratic	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Delaware.	Retired
	Linda Lingle	Hawaii	2002	2010	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Hawaii.	Retired
	Olene Walker	Utah	2003	2005	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Utah.	Lost nomination for full term
	Jennifer Granholm	Michigan	2003	2011	Democratic	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Michigan. Also the second Canadian-born Governor of a US State, after Frank Bell of Nevada.	Retired
	Janet Napolitano	Arizona	2003	2009	Democratic	First woman to be elected to two terms as Governor of Arizona. Third woman to serve as governor overall. Resigned to become Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama Administration. First woman to immediately succeed another woman as governor.	Resigned
	Kathleen Sebelius	Kansas	2003	2009	Democratic	Resigned to become Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Obama Administration.	Resigned
	Kathleen Blanco	Louisiana	2004	2008	Democratic	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Louisiana. First female governor to be elected in the Deep South without having been the wife or widow of a previous governor.	Retired
	M. Jodi Rell	Connecticut	2004	2011	Republican	As lieutenant governor, she succeeded to the office when Governor John G. Rowland resigned. Was elected in her own right in 2006.	Retired
	Christine Gregoire	Washington	2005	2013	Democratic	Prior to her election to the Governorship, she was Washington's first female attorney general.	Retired
	Sarah Palin	Alaska	2006	2009	Republican	First (and only to date) woman to serve as Governor of Alaska (also Alaska's youngest Governor). First female Governor of any state to appear on a major party presidential ticket, as the Republican candidate for vice president in 2008. First elected governor to give birth while in office.	Resigned
	Beverly Perdue	North Carolina	2009	2013	Democratic	First woman (and only to date) to serve as Governor of North Carolina.	Retired
	Jan Brewer	Arizona	2009	2015	Republican	As Secretary of State, she succeeded to the office when Governor Janet Napolitano resigned. Third consecutive woman to serve as Governor of Arizona, and the fourth overall, a national record. Was elected in her own right in 2010.	Retired

Territories and the District of Columbia

Incumbent

Picture	Name	Jurisdiction	From	To	Party	Notes
	Muriel Bowser (mayor)	District of Columbia	2015	Incumbent	Democratic	The second woman and African-American woman to serve as Mayor of District of Columbia.

Former

Picture	Name	Jurisdiction	From	To	Party	Notes
	Sharon Pratt Kelly (mayor)	District of Columbia	1991	1995	Democratic	First African-American woman to serve as mayor of a major American city. First woman to serve as Mayor of District of Columbia.
	Sila María Calderón	Puerto Rico	2001	2005	Popular Democratic Party*	First woman to serve as Governor of Puerto Rico. Formerly Puerto Rico's secretary of State and mayor of San Juan. Popular Democratic Party: While it generally aligns with the U.S. Democratic Party, it is not a formal branch or affiliate, and is characterized in Puerto Rican politics mainly by support for continued status as a U.S. commonwealth, contrasting other major parties advocating statehood and independence.

Timeline of female U.S. Governors

Blue represents members of the Democratic Party, red represents members of the Republican Party.

See also

• List of first gentlemen in the United States

References

External links

• "History of Women Governors" Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey