As of , 53 women have served as governor of a U.S. state, four as governor of an unincorporated U.S. territory, and two as mayor of the District of Columbia. In January 2026, women have been serving as governor in 14 U.S. states, as mayor of the District of Columbia, and as territorial governors of Guam and Puerto Rico. Of the current female state governors, ten are Democrats and four are Republicans. Madeleine Kunin is the oldest living former female governor at 93.
History
The first woman to act as governor was Carolyn B. Shelton, who served as Acting Governor of Oregon for one weekend from 9 a.m. on February 27, through 10 a.m. on March 1, 1909. The outgoing governor, George Earle Chamberlain, had been elected to the U.S. Senate and had to leave for Washington, D.C., before his term ended; the incoming governor, Frank W. Benson, had become ill and could not assume office early. Chamberlain left Shelton, his secretary, in charge for the weekend. It was another three and a half years before women were allowed to vote in Oregon.
The first female acting governor to be entrusted with substantial duties while in office was Soledad Chávez de Chacón, who held the powers and duties of Governor of New Mexico for two weeks in 1924 while Governor James F. Hinkle attended the Democratic Convention in New York. Lieutenant Governor José A. Baca had died in May, so Chacón, the Secretary of State, filled the position. Chacón said that she believed that her 1924 elevation was the first time in the United States that a woman had been called on to assume the responsibilities of the governor.Albuquerque Journal, October 24, 2010, reporting on an article from Albuquerque Morning Journal, June 21, 1924.
The first woman to assume office as governor pursuant to a special election was Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming, who was elected on November 4, 1924, following the death of her husband and former governor, William B. Ross, and was sworn in on January 5, 1925. Wyoming was the first state to provide women's suffrage after New Jersey had abolished it in 1807. Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas won the general election of November 4, 1924, and was sworn in on January 20, 1925. Her husband, former governor James Edward Ferguson, had been impeached and removed from office in 1917. The first woman elected governor who was not the wife or widow of a former state governor was Ella T. Grasso of Connecticut, elected in 1974 and sworn in on January 8, 1975. Kay Ivey of Alabama, is the longest-serving female governor in the nation. She is currently serving having been first elected in 2018.
To date, no woman has ever changed parties during her gubernatorial term or has been elected as a third-party member or an independent.
Demographics As of 2026, Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New Mexico are the only states to have elected women as governors from both major parties. Arizona was the first state where a woman followed another woman as governor (they were from different parties). Arizona has also had the most with five, and is the first state to have three consecutive women to serve as governor.
A record 14 out of 50 state governorships were held by women following Mikie Sherrill's inauguration as the Governor of New Jersey on January 20, 2026. This record of 14 was briefly matched for less than two weeks in January 2025 following the inauguration of Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire on January 9 but prior to the departure of Bethany Hall-Long of Delaware on January 21.
Also, 19 states have never elected a female governor: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Two states (Mississippi and Utah) have never seen a major party nominate a woman in a gubernatorial election, although one woman, Olene Walker, had assumed the office of Governor of Utah from 2003 to 2005 after previous governor, Mike Leavitt, resigned.
Three women of color have been state governors: Susana Martinez and Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico (both Hispanic) and Nikki Haley of South Carolina (Indian-American). Martinez and Haley are both Republican; Lujan Grisham is a Democrat. Additionally, all six women who governed an insular area have been of an ethnic minority group: Sharon Pratt and Muriel Bowser of Washington, D.C. (both African-American), Sila María Calderón, Wanda Vázquez Garced and Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico (all Hispanic), and Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam (Pacific Islander). Pratt, Bowser, Calderón, and Guerrero are Democrats, while Vázquez Garced and Gonzalez-Colon are Republicans.
Histograph Starting Total Graph March 4, 1789 0 January 5, 1925 1 ❚ January 20, 1925 2 ❚❚ January 3, 1927 1 ❚ January 17, 1927 0 January 17, 1933 1 ❚ January 15, 1935 0 January 16, 1967 1 ❚ May 7, 1968 0 January 8, 1975 1 ❚ January 12, 1977 2 ❚❚ December 31, 1980 1 ❚ January 14, 1981 0 December 13, 1983 1 ❚ January 10, 1985 2 ❚❚ January 9, 1987 3 ❚❚❚ December 8, 1987 2 ❚❚ April 4, 1988 3 ❚❚❚ January 9, 1991 2 ❚❚ January 10, 1991 1 ❚ January 14, 1991 3 ❚❚❚ January 15, 1991 4 ❚❚❚❚ March 6, 1991 3 ❚❚❚ January 18, 1994 4 ❚❚❚❚ January 9, 1995 2 ❚❚ January 17, 1995 1 ❚ January 9, 1997 2 ❚❚ September 5, 1997 3 ❚❚❚ December 31, 1998 4 ❚❚❚❚ January 11, 1999 3 ❚❚❚ January 1, 2001 4 ❚❚❚❚ January 3, 2001 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 31, 2001 4 ❚❚❚❚ April 10, 2001 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ December 2, 2002 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 1, 2003 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 2, 2003 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 9, 2003 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 13, 2003 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ November 5, 2003 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 12, 2004 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ July 1, 2004 9 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 3, 2005 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 12, 2005 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ December 4, 2006 9 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 14, 2008 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 10, 2009 9 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 20, 2009 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ April 28, 2009 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ July 26, 2009 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ December 6, 2010 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 5, 2011 4 ❚❚❚❚ January 10, 2011 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 12, 2011 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 3, 2013 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 5, 2013 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 16, 2013 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 5, 2015 4 ❚❚❚❚ January 6, 2015 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ February 16, 2015 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 2, 2017 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ January 24, 2017 4 ❚❚❚❚ April 10, 2017 5 ❚❚❚❚❚ May 24, 2017 6 ❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 1, 2019 7 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 2, 2019 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 5, 2019 9 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ March 2, 2021 8 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ August 24, 2021 9 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 2, 2023 10 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 5, 2023 11 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 10, 2023 12 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 7, 2025 13 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 9, 2025 14 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 21, 2025 13 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 25, 2025 12 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 17, 2026 13 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚ January 20, 2026 14 ❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
State governors ImageName(lifespan)StateTerm startTerm endPartyNotesDepartureTime in officeRef WyomingFirst woman to serve as governor. First woman as Governor of Wyoming. First woman elected in a special election. Lost reelection TexasFirst woman as Governor of Texas. First woman elected in a general election. First woman to serve non-consecutive terms as Governor.Lost renominationRetired AlabamaFirst woman as Governor of Alabama. First woman to die in office as governor.Died in office ConnecticutFirst woman as Governor of Connecticut. First woman to resign as governor.Resigned WashingtonFirst woman as Governor of Washington. New HampshireFirst woman as Acting Governor of New Hampshire. Elevated while President of the Senate. Shortest serving female governor.Acting governor replaced upon inauguration of a full governor KentuckyFirst woman as Governor of Kentucky.Term-limited VermontFirst woman as Governor of Vermont. First foreign-born woman as governor.Retired NebraskaFirst woman as Governor of Nebraska. First woman elected to a governorship over another woman nominated by a major party. First Republican woman elected to a governorship.Lost reelection ArizonaFirst woman as Governor of Arizona. Elevated from Secretary of State.Retired KansasFirst woman as Governor of Kansas. First woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election.Retired OregonFirst woman as Governor of Oregon.Retired TexasLost reelection New JerseyFirst woman as Governor of New Jersey. First Republican woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election.Resigned to become EPA Administrator New HampshireFirst woman elected Governor of New Hampshire. First woman elected as both Governor and U.S. Senator.Retired ArizonaFirst woman elected as Governor of Arizona. Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.Term-limited OhioFirst woman as Governor of Ohio. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor.Term ended MontanaFirst woman as Governor of Montana.Retired DelawareFirst woman as Governor of Delaware.Term-limited MassachusettsFirst woman as Acting Governor of Massachusetts. Elevated to acting governor while Lieutenant Governor. First to give birth while in office.Retired HawaiiFirst woman as Governor of Hawaii.Term-limited MichiganFirst woman as Governor of Michigan.Term-limited ArizonaFirst woman to succeed another woman.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security KansasFirst governor who is the daughter of a former governor.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services UtahFirst woman as Governor of Utah. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor.Lost nomination for full term LouisianaFirst woman as Governor of Louisiana.Retired ConnecticutElevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.Retired WashingtonRetired AlaskaFirst woman as Governor of Alaska.Resigned North CarolinaFirst woman as Governor of North Carolina.Retired ArizonaElevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.Retired New MexicoFirst woman as Governor of New Mexico. First Latina to serve as Governor of a U.S. state.Term-limited OklahomaFirst woman as Governor of Oklahoma.Term-limitedFirst woman as Governor of South Carolina. First Indian American woman serving as governor.Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations New HampshireResigned to become a U.S. Senator Rhode IslandFirst woman as Governor of Rhode Island.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce OregonFirst openly bisexual governor and first openly LGBT elected governor. Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.Term-limited AlabamaIncumbentElevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. Longest serving female governor.Serving IowaIncumbentFirst woman as Governor of Iowa. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.Serving MichiganIncumbent Serving New MexicoIncumbent Serving MaineIncumbentFirst woman as Governor of Maine.Serving South DakotaFirst woman as Governor of South Dakota.Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security KansasIncumbentServing New YorkIncumbentFirst woman as Governor of New York. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.Serving ArizonaIncumbentServing MassachusettsIncumbentFirst woman elected as Governor of Massachusetts. First openly lesbian governor.Serving OregonIncumbentFirst openly LGBT governor to succeed another openly LGBT governor.Serving ArkansasIncumbentFirst woman as Governor of Arkansas. Youngest current governor in the United States; first millennial governor. ServingBethany Hall-Long DelawareElevated from Lieutenant Governor.Term ended; lost nomination for full termKelly Ayotte New HampshireIncumbentServing VirginiaIncumbent First woman as Governor of Virginia.Serving New JerseyIncumbent First female military veteran to be elected as Governor.Serving
Number of female governors per state