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The Wave of Women Running for Governor

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Via:  Buzz of the Orient  •  one week ago  •  3 comments

By:   Olivier Knox - USNews Decision Points

The Wave of Women Running for Governor
 

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The Wave of Women Running for Governor

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Gubernatorial candidate and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks during an event.      (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Happy Election Day eve! Stella Garner here with today’s column as Olivier prepares for our election coverage.

Tuesday’s election could yield an array of firsts for our 250-year-old nation. Michigan could make Abdul El-Sayed the first Muslim senator in American history, and Nevada, Wisconsin and Florida could elect their first Black governors. 

But the election is also highly consequential for women candidates, particularly in gubernatorial races. The U.S. currently has a record 14 women governors – 10 Democrats and four Republicans. That number could rise, with 26 women on the ballot for governor from major parties this week, one more than the prior record set in 2022.

Here’s a look at the biggest gubernatorial races with women candidates, which issues matter most to women voters and what more women in governors’ mansions could mean for the White House in 2028.

The Big Races

Women make up more than a third of all gubernatorial nominees this cycle – the most in recorded history, according to the Center for American Women and Politics . 

“When it's a good year for Democrats, we tend to see more women running, and they are a part of a bigger pool of Democrats who see an opportunity,” said Kelly Dittmar, the center’s director of research. 

Four gubernatorial races feature women nominees for both major parties, matching a record high from 2022. Minnesota and Tennessee are all but guaranteed to elect their first woman governor, as both major-party nominees are women. The New Hampshire and Oregon races feature women as both incumbents and challengers. It’s New Hampshire’s second consecutive election with women running from both major parties, another national milestone. 

If elected in Georgia, Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms would become the first Black woman governor in American history. In Minnesota, Republican nominee Lisa Demuth is looking to do the same – a tougher task in the Democratic-leaning state.

The Cost Issue

Women have consistently outnumbered men at the polls, showing higher rates of both voter registration and voter turnout for several decades. While there’s no clear singular reason for the gender gap, Dittmar said, women are more likely to both understand the importance of voting and feel its impact. 

“We know that this isn't something we've always had the right to do, and so we're going to utilize it,” Dittmar said. “Women recognize, I think, the ways in which their lives are directly affected by governmental decision-making and the direction of the government.” 

This year’s races center on one massive issue: the cost of living. And it’s an even bigger deal to women. 

September polling from The 19th and YouGov found that women have greater concerns about the cost of living in every category, from groceries to retirement. Women tend to make more household purchases and carry the burden of managing family finances – stressors exacerbated by the persistent gender wage gap, The 19th reported.

A Pathway to the Presidency 

The rise in women gubernatorial candidates is notable in a country that has never elected a woman president, as governors are also often viewed as presidential hopefuls (think Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush).

However, a Pew Research Center study released in September found that 37% of Americans say it’s unlikely a woman will become president in their lifetime, up from 26% in 2023. Two-thirds of those surveyed said the president’s gender was unimportant to them. 

Still, women governors establish the ability to manage high-level executive positions, according to Alana Persson, communications director for RepresentWomen.

“Because we don't have the precedent for presidency, the governorship is so important for that sense of precedent that women need to have,” Persson said. “To be told, ‘Oh, you're not the right leader, you don't have what it takes’ – to be able to lead a state effectively really kind of diminishes those claims.”


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Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    one week ago

I don't know why Americans have such a fear of a woman president..  Other nations have had quite good Presidents or Prime Ministers, such as England, Germany, India, Israel, New Zealand, now Mexico, but don't think I mean Japan, whose woman leader in known to pay homage at the memorials for the Japanese WW2 war  criminals famed for the Rape of Nanjing, horrifying medical experiments on live awake humans without anesthetics, "comfort women"... and Trump entertained her at the White House, which I, with a Chinese viewpoint, consider tantamount to his hosting Adolph Hitler. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
2  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    one week ago

Many years ago I was at a conference in Dallas where Anne Richards spoke.  I was absolutely knocked out by her.  I imagined moving to Texas to knock on doors for her had she run for PotUS - I did that once for a woman doctor running to be a member of the Ontario provincial government.  As well, I am suppotive of women who display a lot more personal integrity and principles than party loyalty, more so than most men, even if it costs them for doing so, such as Liz Cheney or Halley Stevens. 

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
3  seeder  Buzz of the Orient    6 days ago

She just won it - first black woman governor in America.  BRAVO!!!

 
 
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