Table 8.8

Women Governors Throughout History


FIPS Name (Party-State) Dates served Special circumstances
__Nellie Tayloe Ross (D-WY)1925–1927Won special election to replace deceased husband
__Miriam “Ma” Ferguson (D-TX)1925–1927, 1933–1935Inaugurated 15 days after Ross; elected as surrogate for husband who could not succeed himself
__Lurleen Wallace (D-AL)1967–1968Elected as surrogate for husband who could not succeed himself
__Ella Grasso (D-CT)1975–1980First woman elected governor in her own right; resigned for health reasons
__Dixy Lee Ray (D-WA)1977–1981
__Vesta Roy (R-NH)1982–1983Elected 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)1985–1991First woman to serve three terms as governor
__Kay Orr (R-NE)1987–1991First Republican woman governor and first woman to defeat another woman in a gubernatorial race
__Rose Mofford (D-AZ)1988–1991Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who was impeached and convicted
__Joan Finney (D-KS)1991–1995First woman to defeat an incumbent governor
__Ann Richards (D-TX)1991–1995
__Barbara Roberts (D-OR)1991–1995
__Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ)1994–2001Resigned to take presidential appointment as commissioner of the Environmental Protection Agency
__Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)1997–2003
__Jane Dee Hull (R-AZ)1997–2003Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned; later elected to a full term
__Nancy Hollister (R-OH)1998–1999Elected 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)2001–2003Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned for an ambassadorial appointment
__Judy Martz (R-MT)2001–2005
__Olene Walker (R-UT)2003–2005Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned to take a federal appointment
__Ruth Ann Minner (D-DE)2001–2009
__Jennifer M. Granholm (D-MI)2003–2011
__Linda Lingle (R-HI)2003–2011
__Janet Napolitano (D-AZ)2003–2009First woman to succeed another woman as governor; resigned to become US Secretary of Homeland Security
__Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS)2003–2009Father was governor of Ohio; resigned to become US Secretary of Health and Human Services
__Kathleen Blanco (D-LA)2004–2008
__M. Jodi Rell (R-CT)2004–2011Elected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned
__Christine Gregoire (D-WA)2005–2013
__Sarah Palin (R-AK)2007–2009Resigned
__Beverly Perdue (D-NC)2009–2013
__Jan Brewer (R-AZ)2009–2015Elected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned
__Nikki Haley (R-SC)2011–2017First Asian (Indian) American woman to be elected governor; resigned to become US Ambassador to the United Nations
__Maggie Hassan (D-NH)2013–2017
__Mary Fallin (R-OK)2011–2019
__Susana Martinez (R-NM)2011–2019First Latina to be elected governor
__Gina Raimando (D-RI)2015–2021Resigned to become US Secretary of Commerce
__Kate Brown (D-OR)2015–presentElected as secretary of state, succeeded governor who resigned
__Kay Ivey (R-AL)2017–presentElected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned
__Kim Reynolds (R-IA)2017–presentElected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned
__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
__Kathy Hochul (D-NY)2021- presentElected as lieutenant governor, succeeded governor who resigned

Source:

Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, March 2022.