History of Women Governors
History of Women Governors
44
women (26D, 18R) have served as governors in 30 states.
In addition, two women have served as governor in Puerto Rico and one has served as governor in Guam. Arizona is the first state where a woman succeeded another woman as governor, and the first state to have had four women governors. Of the 44 women governors, 30 were first elected in their own right; 3 replaced their husbands, and 11 became governor by constitutional succession, six of whom subsequently won full terms. The record number of women serving simultaneously, achieved in 2004, 2007, 2019, and 2021, is 9.
| Name (Party-State) | Dates Served | Special Circumstances |
|---|---|---|
| Nellie Tayloe Ross (D-WY) | 1925-1927 | Won special election to replace deceased husband. |
| Miriam "Ma" Ferguson (D-TX) |
1925-1927, 1933-1935 |
Inaugurated 15 days after Ross; elected as surrogate for husband who could not succeed himself. |
| Lurleen Wallace (D-AL) | 1967-1968 | Elected as surrogate for husband who could not succeed himself. |
| Ella Grasso (D-CT) | 1975-1980 | First woman elected governor in her own right; resigned for health reasons. |
| Dixy Lee Ray (D-WA) | 1977-1981 | |
| Vesta Roy (R-NH) | 1982-1983 | Elected to state senate and chosen as senate president; served as governor for seven days when incumbent died. |
| Martha Layne Collins (D-KY) | 1984-1987 | |
| Madeleine Kunin (D-VT) | 1985-1991 | First and only woman to serve three terms as governor. |
| Kay Orr (R-NE) | 1987-1991 | First Republican woman elected governor and first woman to defeat another woman in a gubernatorial race. |
| Rose Mofford (D-AZ) | 1988-1991 | Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who was impeached and convicted. |
| Joan Finney (D-KS) | 1991-1995 | First woman to defeat an incumbent governor. |
| Ann Richards (D-TX) | 1991-1995 | |
| Barbara Roberts (D-OR) | 1991-1995 | |
| Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ) | 1994-2001 | Resigned to take presidential appointment as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. |
| Jane Dee Hull (R-AZ) | 1997-2003 | Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned; later elected to a full term. |
| Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) | 1997-2003 | |
| Nancy Hollister (R-OH) | 1998-1999 | Elected lieutenant governor; served as governor for 11 days when predecessor took U.S. Senate seat and successor had not yet been sworn in. |
| Jane Swift (R-MA) | 2001-2003 | Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned for an ambassadorial appointment. |
| Judy Martz (R-MT) | 2001-2005 | |
| Sila Calderon (Popular Democratic Party-PR) | 2001-2005 | Former mayor of San Juan, first woman governor of Puerto Rico. |
| Ruth Ann Minner (D-DE) | 2001-2009 | |
| Linda Lingle (R-HI) | 2002-2010 | |
| Olene Walker (R-UT) | 2003-2005 | Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned to take a federal appointment. |
| Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) | 2003-2009 | First woman to succeed another woman as governor. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. |
| Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) | 2003-2009 | Father was governor of Ohio. Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services |
| Jennifer M. Granholm (D-MI) | 2003-2011 | |
| Kathleen Blanco (D-LA) | 2004-2008 | |
| M. Jodi Rell (R-CT) | 2004-2011 | Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned. |
| Christine Gregoire (D-WA) | 2005-2013 | |
| Sarah Palin (R-AK) | 2007-2009 | Resigned. |
| Beverly M. Perdue (D-NC) | 2009-2013 | |
| Jan Brewer (R-AZ) | 2009-2015 | Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned. |
| Nikki Haley (R-SC) | 2011-2017 | Haley and Martinez were the first women of color to serve as governors. |
| Mary Fallin (R-OK) | 2011-2019 | |
| Susana Martinez (R-NM) | 2011-2019 | Martinez and Haley were the first women of color to serve as governors. |
| Maggie Hassan (D-NH) | 2013-2017 | |
| Kate Brown (D-OR) | 2015-present | Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned. |
| Gina Raimondo (D-RI) | 2015-2021 | Resigned 3/2/31 to become Commerce Secretary in the Biden Administration. |
| Kay Ivey (R-AL) | 2017-present | Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned. |
| Kim Reynolds (R-IA) | 2017-present | Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned for an ambassadorial appointment. |
| Laura Kelly (D-KS) | 2019-present | |
| Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) | 2019-present | |
| Janet Mills (D-ME) | 2019-present | |
| Kristi Noem (R-SD) | 2019-present | |
| Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) | 2019-present | |
| Wanda Vázquez Garced | 2019-present | Former Secretary of Justice, succeeded governor who resigned. |