Women in Elective Office 2019

Congress
126
(105D, 21R)
23.6% of 535 seats

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the first woman Speaker of the House, holds the highest position in the House and is second in line of presidential succession.

U.S. Senate
25
(17D, 8R)
25% of 100 seats
U.S. House
101
(88D, 13R)
23.2% of 435 seats
U.S. Delegate
4
(2D, 2R)

U.S. Delegates are non-voting members and are not included in our total counts.

Statewide Elective Executive
91
(48D, 41R, 2NP)
29.4% of 310 seats
Governor
9
(6D, 3R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Kate Brown D 2015-2022 Oregon
Kay E. Ivey R 2017-present Alabama
Laura J. Kelly D 2019-present Kansas
Michelle Lujan Grisham D 2019-present New Mexico
Janet T. Mills D 2019-present Maine
Kristi Noem R 2019-present South Dakota
Gina M. Raimondo D 2015-2021 Rhode Island
Kimberly Reynolds R 2017-present Iowa
Gretchen E. Whitmer D 2019-present Michigan
Lieutenant Governor
15
(9D, 6R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Susan Bysiewicz D 2019-present Connecticut
Suzanne Crouch R 2017-present Indiana
Pamela Evette R 2019-present South Carolina
Peggy Flanagan D/DFL 2019-present Minnesota
Bethany A. Hall-Long D 2017-present Delaware
Jenean Hampton R 2016-2019 Kentucky
Kathy C. Hochul D 2015-2021 New York
Eleni Kounalakis D 2019-present California
Kate Marshall D 2019-2021 Nevada
Janice K. McGeachin R 2019-2022 Idaho
Jeanette M. Nunez R 2019-present Florida
Sheila Y. Oliver D 2018-2023 New Jersey
Karyn E. Polito R 2015-2022 Massachusetts
Dianne I. Primavera D 2019-present Colorado
Juliana Stratton D 2019-present Illinois
Other Statewide Elective Executive
67
(33D, 32R, 2NP)
Position Democrat Republican Non-Partisan Total
Secretary of State 8 4 - 12
Attorney General 5 2 - 7
State Treasurer 5 6 - 11
State Auditor 6 4 - 10
Agriculture Commissioner 1 - - 1
Commissioner of Lands 2 - - 2
Commissioner of Labor 1 2 - 3
Public Service Commissioner - 3 - 3
Superintendent of Public Instruction 2 6 1 9
State Comptroller 3 - - 3
Corporation Commissioner 1 2 - 3
Insurance Commissioner - 1 - 1
Public Utilities Commissioner - 1 - 1
Railroad Commissioner - 1 - 1
State Legislature
2,132
(1,442D, 667R, 14NP, 5Ind, 4Prg)
28.9% of 7,383 seats

Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

NP = non-partisan, Ind = Independent, Prg = Progressive

State Senate
508
(330D, 164R, 14NP)
25.8% of 1,972 seats
State House/Assembly
1,624
(1,112D, 503R, 5Ind, 4Prg)
30% of 5,411 seats
Top 10 States
  • Nevada (52.4%)
  • Colorado (47.0%)
  • Oregon (42.2%)
  • Washington (41.5%)
  • Vermont (40.0%)
  • Arizona (38.9%)
  • Alaska (38.3%)
  • Maryland (38.3%)
  • Maine (37.2%)
  • Rhode Island (38.1%)
Bottom 10 States
  • West Virginia (13.4%)
  • Tennessee (15.2%)
  • Wyoming (15.6%)
  • Alabama (16.4%)
  • Mississippi (16.7%)
  • Louisiana (18.1%)
  • South Carolina (16.5%)
  • Oklahoma (21.5%)
  • North Dakota (22.0%)
  • South Dakota (22.9%)
Mayors – Cities over 30,000
300
22% of 1,366 seats

Population data from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and officeholder data from the Center for American Women and Politics as of September 2019.

Mayors – 100 Most Populous Cities
27
27% of 100 seats

Of the 27 women mayors in the top 100 most populous cities as of September 2019, 7 are Black women, one is Latina, and 2 are Asian American/Pacific Islander women.

Current Mayors of the 100 Most Populous Cities
City Mayor Rank Race/Ethnicity
Chicago, IL Lori Lightfoot 3 Black
Phoenix, AZ Kate Gallego 8 White
San Franciso, CA London Breed 15 Black
Fort Worth, TX Betsy Price 16 White
Charlotte, NC Vi Alexander Lyles 20 Black
Washington, DC Muriel Bowser 24 Black
Seattle, WA Jenny Durkan 28 White
Las Vegas, NV Carolyn Goodman 32 White
Omaha, NE Jean Stothert 42 White
Atlanta, GA Keisha Lance Bottoms 43 Black
Raleigh, NC Nancy McFarlane 45 White
Oakland, CA Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf 49 White
Bakersfield, CA Karen K. Goh 53 Asian American/Pacific Islander
New Orleans, LA LaToya Cantrell 54 Black
Tampa, FL Jane Castor 56 White
Islip, NY Angie M. Carpenter 57 White
St. Louis, MO Lyda Krewson 60 White
Lexington, KY Linda Gorton 63 White
Henderson, NV Debra March 71 White
Greensboro, NC Nancy Vaughan 73 White
Lincoln, NE Leirion Gaylor Baird 76 White
Chula Vista, CA Mary Casillas Salas 82 Latina
Madison, WI Satya Rhodes-Conway 90 White
Baton Rouge, LA Sharon Weston Broome 92 Black
Reno, NV Hillary Schieve 93 White
Fremont, CA Lily Mei 98 Asian American/Pacific Islander
Irvine, CA Christina L. Shea 100 White
Percentages of Women in Elective Office 1971-Present

Table below provides data on women as a percentage of women officeholders at the congressional, statewide elective executive, and state legislative levels from 1971 to present. All but present counts reflect levels of women’s representation at the end of that calendar year.

Year U.S. Congress Statewide Elective Statewide Legislatures
1971 3.0% 7.0% N/A
1973 3.0% 8.0% N/A
1975 4.0% 10.0% 8.0%
1977 4.0% 10.0% 9.0%
1979 3.0% 11.0% 10.0%
1981 4.0% 11.0% 12.0%
1983 4.0% 11.0% 13.0%
1985 5.0% 14.0% 15.0%
1987 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1989 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1991 6.0% 18.0% 18.0%
1993 10.1% 22.2% 20.5%
1995 10.3% 25.9% 20.6%
1997 11.0% 25.4% 21.6%
1999 12.1% 27.6% 22.4%
2001 13.6% 27.6% 22.4%
2003 13.6% 26.0% 22.4%
2005 15.0% 25.7% 22.4%
2007 16.1% 24.1% 23.5%
2009 16.8% 22.6% 24.3%
2011 16.8% 22.1% 23.7%
2012 16.8% 23.4% 23.7%
2013 18.5% 23.0% 24.2%
2014 18.7% 23.0% 24.3%
2015 19.4% 24.8% 24.6%
2016 19.6% 24.1% 24.5%
2017 19.6% 22.8% 25.1%
2018 20.6% 23.8% 25.4%
2019 23.7% 29.3% 28.9%