Thirteen women will serve as governors in the US next year, topping the former record of 12 set in 2022.
Kelly Ayotte’s win in New Hampshire, which was called by the Associated Press on Monday, toppled the previous high as the Republican is set to become the next governor of the Granite State in January.
“It matters to have women in those roles to normalize the image of women in political leadership and even more specifically in executive leadership, where they’re the sole leader, not just a member of a team,” Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics, said.
The record-shattering lineup includes women recently considered for positions in the presidential office.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, of Michigan, was considered to be a top contender for the Democratic presidential nominee following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race before Vice President Kamala Harris quickly notched the nomination.
Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was also thought to be a likely option for President-elect Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick.
While the US did not elect its first woman president, the record for the greatest number of women governors in the country’s history was set to be broken whether or not Ayotte won the New Hampshire gubernatorial election.
Ayotte, a former US senator and the state’s third female governor ever, ran opposite of Democratic nominee Joyce Craig in a rare race that saw two women on the ticket.
Of the 13 female governors, five are Republicans — another new high — and eight are Democrats.
Even so, 18 states have never had a woman serve as governor.
“This is another side of political leadership where women continue to be underrepresented. Thirteen out of 50 is still underrepresentation,” Dittmar said.
New Hampshire is a rare outlier, given its extensive history of electing women to serve in political office.
When Ayotte was senator, she was part of the country’s first all-female congressional delegation. New Hampshire was also the first state to elect a woman to serve as governor in 1997.
“Being a woman isn’t really that critical to [Ayotte’s] political persona,” Linda Fowler, professor emerita of government at Dartmouth College, said.
Ayotte and Craig said that their sex hadn’t been mentioned on the campaign trail, even though reproductive rights were often at the forefront of their platforms.
Dittmar noted that while many voters typically stick to their registered party, women often face the extra hurdle of criticism that men avoid, having to go the extra mile to prove themselves just because they are female.
New Hampshire was one of just 11 states to hold a gubernatorial election this year. In 2026, 36 states will be electing governors.
With Post Wires
