More Women Gubernatorial Nominees and Potential U.S. House Pick-Ups

Primary elections were held yesterday in Colorado, Illinois, New York, Oklahoma, and Utah, with additional runoff primary contests in Mississippi and South Carolina and a special U.S. House election in Nebraska. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, is tracking results for women candidates in these races. Full results are available on the Election Analysis page on the CAWP website. There are still a number of races featuring women candidates that remain too close to call, so this post will update as results are determined. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, is available via CAWP's Election Watch.

Among the most notable results for women:

• Women won major-party nominations for governor in Colorado, New York, and Oklahoma. With these nominations, women have now tied the record for major-party gubernatorial nominations at 16 (first set in 2018).
  • In Colorado, Heidi Ganahl (R) will challenge incumbent Governor Jared Polis (D) in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report. If successful, she will be the first woman to serve as governor of Colorado.
  • In New York, incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D) – who became the first woman governor of New York when she ascended to the governorship upon the resignation of former Governor Andrew Cuomo in August 2021 – will run to hold her seat in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report. If successful, she will be the first woman elected governor of New York.
  • In Oklahoma, incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister (D) will challenge incumbent Governor Kevin Stitt (R) in a general election contest currently rated as “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report. Hofmeister was elected statewide as a Republican and changed parties from Republican to Democrat in October 2021. If successful, she will be the first Democratic woman to serve as governor of Oklahoma.
• Non-incumbent women won major-party nominations in multiple U.S. House contests where they are currently either favored to win or deemed competitive in November.
  • State Senator Brittany Pettersen (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary in CO-07, a contest currently rated as “Likely Democratic” by Cook Political Report.
  • State Representative Yadira Caraveo (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary and State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R) won the Republican nomination in CO-08, an all-woman contest currently rated as a Republican toss up by Cook Political Report. If elected, Caraveo will be the first Latina elected to Congress from Colorado.
  • State Representative Delia Ramirez (D) won the Democratic nomination in IL-03, a contest currently rated as “Solid Democratic” by Cook Political Report. If successful, she will be the first Latina elected to Congress from Illinois.
  • Nikki Budzinski (D) won the Democratic nomination in IL-13, a contest currently rated as “Lean Democratic” by Cook Political Report.
  • Esther Joy King (R) won the Republican nomination in IL-17, a contest currently rated as a Democratic toss up by Cook Political Report.
• Incumbent women are favored to win re-election in U.S. House contests in Colorado, Illinois, and Oklahoma, but 2 (2D) incumbent women U.S. representatives from Illinois will not return to Congress in 2023: incumbent Representative Marie Newman (D) was defeated in an incumbent v. incumbent primary contest in IL-06, and incumbent Representative Cheri Bustos (D, IL-17) is not running for re-election.
  • Newman is the second incumbent woman member of the U.S. House to be defeated in primaries this year; the first was Representative Carolyn Bourdeaux (D, GA-07).
  • Incumbent Representative Mary Miller (R) won the Republican nomination in an incumbent v. incumbent primary contest in IL-15 and is strongly favored to win in November.
  • For more information about the impacts of congressional reapportionment for women candidates in election 2022, see our fact sheet Redistricting Effects on Women Congressional Incumbents.
• Women won major-party nominations for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, but only incumbent Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) is currently favored to win in November.
  • In Illinois, incumbent Senator Duckworth was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will be challenged by Republican nominee Kathy Salvi (R) in an all-woman general election contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report.
  • In Oklahoma, where two Senate seats are up for election this year, former U.S. Representative Kendra Horn (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will compete in a general election contest to fill the unexpired term of Senator Jim Inhofe (R). In the other U.S. Senate contest, Madison Horn (D) has advanced to the August 23 primary runoff election for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Senator James Lankford (R). Both general election contests are currently rated “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report.
  • In South Carolina, State Representative Krystle Matthews (D) won the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Tim Scott in a contest currently rated as “Solid Republican” by Cook Political Report. If successful, she will be the first woman in the U.S. Senate from South Carolina and the first Black woman in the U.S. Senate from a Southern state.
• Success for women in primaries for statewide executive offices resulted in multiple woman v. woman general election contests.
  • In Colorado, incumbent Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will be challenged by Republican nominee Pam Anderson (R) in November.
  • In Illinois, incumbent Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton (D) will be challenged by Republican nominee Stephanie Trussell (R) in November. Both ran on tickets with their party’s gubernatorial nominee.
  • In Illinois, incumbent Comptroller Susana Mendoza (D) was unopposed in the Democratic primary and will be challenged by Republican nominee Shannon L. Teresi (R) in November.
  • In South Carolina, Ellen Weaver (R) won the Republican nomination via runoff and Lisa Ellis (D) had already secured the Democratic nomination in the open-seat contest for superintendent of public instruction.

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.