A Deep Dive Into Women in Statewide Elective Executive Office

Today, 96 (51D, 44R, 1NP) women serve in statewide elective executive office. They hold 31% of all of these positions nationwide. The 2026 midterm elections – when 36 gubernatorial and around 200 other statewide executive offices will be up for election – provide an opportunity for women to increase their representation in these offices.

Since 1893, 625 women have served in statewide elective executive office in the United States. Statewide elective executive officeholders are among the most powerful political leaders in the United States, responsible for key functions of government – from the execution and oversight of elections to upholding the law and managing states’ treasuries.

Statewide elective executive offices include those positions for which officeholders are elected via statewide voting. While some women have been appointed to these offices to fill vacancies, serving for full terms requires election. The number of statewide positions selected via election varies by state. For example, while all 50 states select governors via statewide elections, only 38 states elect secretaries of state and 12 states elect their top state education official. Additionally, states have changed their number of statewide elective positions over time.

Just over half of all women who served in statewide elective executive offices are Democrats (51%), 45% are Republicans, and less than 1% represented other parties. Another 2.4% of women officeholders served only in nonpartisan positions. In addition, seven women (1.1%) served in statewide elective executive positions with more than one partisan affiliation during their tenures.

A majority (88.8%) of women who have served in statewide elective executive office identify as white alone. Women from historically marginalized racial/ethnic communities represent 11.2% of women who have ever served in statewide elective executive positions.

Of all 625 women who have served in statewide elective executive office, 4.8% identify as Latina, 4% identify as Black, 1.9% identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander, and 0.6% identify as Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian. To date, no Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) women have served in statewide elective executive office. Women officeholders who identify as more than one race/ethnicity are included in each group with which they identify.

State legislative office is a common pathway to statewide elective executive office. Nearly one-third (29.6%) of the 625 women who have served in statewide elective executive positions served in the state legislature prior to becoming statewide officeholders. A smaller percentage (4%) of women statewide elective executive officeholders have gone on to serve in congressional offices (U.S. House and/or Senate). One woman, Vice President Kamala Harris, moved from statewide elective executive office (California Attorney General) to the U.S. Senate to vice president of the United States.

Who is representing you in statewide elective executive office? Find out and learn about women candidates for these offices in the 2026 elections, by visiting CAWP's Women Elected Officials Database and Election Watch.

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