List of female governors in the United States

As of 2025, 51 women have served as governor of a U.S. state, three as governor of an unincorporated U.S. territory, and two as mayor of the District of Columbia. In January 2025, women have been serving as governor in 12 U.S. states (13 between January 7 and 9, and January 21 and 25; 14 between January 9 and 21), as mayor of the District of Columbia, and as territorial governors of Guam and Puerto Rico. Of the current female state governors, 8 are Democrats and 4 are Republicans. Madeleine Kunin is the oldest living former female governor at 91.

Map of all states based on whether their governors are male or female as of January 2025

  Male

  Female

History

See also: List of the first women holders of political offices in the United States

The number of female governors every state has had as of January 2025. Gray denotes 0.

  1

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  3

  4

  5

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.^[1] It was another three and a half years before women were allowed to vote in Oregon.^[2][a]

The first woman 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.^[4]

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.^[5] Wyoming was the first state to provide women's suffrage^[6] after New Jersey had abolished it in 1807. Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas won the general election of November 3, 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.^[7] 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.^[8] Kay Ivey of Alabama, is the longest serving female governor in the nation. She is curently serving. ^[9]

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 2025, Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, New Hampshire, 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 Kelly Ayotte's inauguration as Governor of New Hampshire on January 9, 2025.

As of 2025, 18 states have never had a female governor: California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Four states (Minnesota, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Utah) have never seen a major party nominate a woman in a gubernatorial election, although one woman, Olene Walker, has served as governor of Utah and 9 consecutive lieutenant governors have been women in Minnesota since 1983.^[10]

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 Democratics, 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	❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚

State governors

Image	Name (lifespan)	State	Term start	Term end	Party	Notes	Departure	Time in office	Ref
	Nellie Ross (1876–1977)	Wyoming	January 5, 1925	January 3, 1927	Democratic	First woman to serve as governor. First woman as Governor of Wyoming. First woman elected in a special election.	Lost reelection	1 year, 363 days	[11]
	Miriam A. Ferguson (1875–1961)	Texas	January 20, 1925	January 17, 1927	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Texas. First woman elected in a general election. First woman to serve non-consecutive terms as Governor.	Lost renomination	1 year, 362 days	[12]
			January 17, 1933	January 15, 1935			Retired	1 year, 363 days
	Lurleen Wallace (1926–1968)	Alabama	January 16, 1967	May 7, 1968	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Alabama. First woman to die in office as governor.	Died in office	1 year, 112 days
	Ella T. Grasso (1919–1981)	Connecticut	January 8, 1975	December 31, 1980	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Connecticut. First woman to resign as governor.	Resigned	5 years, 358 days	[13]
	Dixy Lee Ray (1914–1994)	Washington	January 12, 1977	January 14, 1981	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Washington.	Lost renomination	4 years, 2 days	[14]
	Vesta M. Roy (1925–2002)	New Hampshire	December 29, 1982	January 6, 1983	Republican	First 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[b]	8 days
	Martha Collins (born 1936)	Kentucky	December 13, 1983	December 8, 1987	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Kentucky.	Term-limited	3 years, 360 days	[15]
	Madeleine Kunin (born 1933)	Vermont	January 10, 1985	January 10, 1991	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Vermont. First foreign-born woman as governor.	Retired	6 years, 0 days	[16]
	Kay A. Orr (born 1939)	Nebraska	January 9, 1987	January 9, 1991	Republican	First 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.[c]	Lost reelection	4 years, 0 days	[17]
	Rose Mofford (1922–2016)	Arizona	April 4, 1988	March 6, 1991	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Arizona. Elevated from Secretary of State.	Retired	2 years, 336 days	[18]
	Joan Finney (1925–2001)	Kansas	January 14, 1991	January 9, 1995	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Kansas. First woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election.	Retired	3 years, 360 days	[19]
	Barbara Roberts (born 1936)	Oregon	January 14, 1991	January 9, 1995	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Oregon.	Retired	3 years, 360 days
	Ann Richards (1933–2006)	Texas	January 15, 1991	January 17, 1995	Democratic		Lost reelection	4 years, 2 days	[20]
	Christine Todd Whitman (born 1946)	New Jersey	January 18, 1994	January 31, 2001	Republican	First woman as Governor of New Jersey. First Republican woman to defeat an incumbent governor in a general election.	Resigned to become EPA Administrator	7 years, 13 days	[21]
	Jeanne Shaheen (born 1947)	New Hampshire	January 9, 1997	January 9, 2003	Democratic	First woman elected Governor of New Hampshire.[c] First woman elected as both Governor and U.S. Senator.	Retired	6 years, 0 days	[23][24]
	Jane Dee Hull (1935–2020)	Arizona	September 5, 1997	January 6, 2003	Republican	Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.	Term-limited	5 years, 123 days
	Nancy Hollister (born 1949)	Ohio	December 31, 1998	January 11, 1999	Republican	First woman as Governor of Ohio. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor.	Term ended	11 days
	Judy Martz (1943–2017)	Montana	January 1, 2001	January 3, 2005	Republican	First woman as Governor of Montana.	Retired	4 years, 2 days
	Ruth Ann Minner (1935–2021)	Delaware	January 3, 2001	January 20, 2009	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Delaware.	Term-limited	8 years, 17 days
	Jane Swift (born 1965)	Massachusetts	April 10, 2001	January 2, 2003	Republican	First woman as Acting Governor of Massachusetts. Elevated to acting governor while Lieutenant Governor. First to give birth while in office.[25]	Retired	1 year, 267 days
	Linda Lingle (born 1953)	Hawaii	December 2, 2002	December 6, 2010	Republican	First woman as Governor of Hawaii.	Term-limited	8 years, 4 days
	Jennifer Granholm (born 1959)	Michigan	January 1, 2003	January 1, 2011	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Michigan.	Term-limited	8 years, 0 days
	Janet Napolitano (born 1957)	Arizona	January 6, 2003	January 21, 2009	Democratic	First woman to succeed another woman.	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security	6 years, 15 days
	Kathleen Sebelius (born 1948)	Kansas	January 13, 2003	April 28, 2009	Democratic	First governor who is the daughter of a former governor.	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services	6 years, 105 days
	Olene Walker (1930–2015)	Utah	November 5, 2003	January 3, 2005	Republican	First woman as Governor of Utah. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor.	Lost nomination for full term	1 year, 59 days
	Kathleen Blanco (1942–2019)	Louisiana	January 12, 2004	January 14, 2008	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Louisiana.	Retired	4 years, 2 days
	Jodi Rell (1946–2024)	Connecticut	July 1, 2004	January 5, 2011	Republican	Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.	Retired	6 years, 188 days
	Christine Gregoire (born 1947)	Washington	January 12, 2005	January 16, 2013	Democratic		Retired	8 years, 4 days
	Sarah Palin (born 1964)	Alaska	December 4, 2006	July 26, 2009	Republican	First woman as Governor of Alaska.	Resigned	2 years, 234 days
	Bev Perdue (born 1947)	North Carolina	January 10, 2009	January 5, 2013	Democratic	First woman as Governor of North Carolina.	Retired	3 years, 361 days
	Jan Brewer (born 1944)	Arizona	January 21, 2009	January 5, 2015	Republican	Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.	Retired	5 years, 349 days
	Susana Martinez (born 1959)	New Mexico	January 1, 2011	January 1, 2019	Republican	First woman as Governor of New Mexico. First Latina to serve as Governor of a U.S. state.	Term-limited	8 years, 0 days
	Mary Fallin (born 1954)	Oklahoma	January 10, 2011	January 14, 2019	Republican	First woman as Governor of Oklahoma.	Term-limited	8 years, 4 days
	Nikki Haley (born 1972)	South Carolina	January 12, 2011	January 24, 2017	Republican	First woman as Governor of South Carolina. First Indian American woman serving as governor.	Resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations	6 years, 12 days
	Maggie Hassan (born 1958)	New Hampshire	January 3, 2013	January 2, 2017	Democratic		Resigned to become a U.S. Senator	3 years, 365 days
	Gina Raimondo (born 1971)	Rhode Island	January 6, 2015	March 2, 2021	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Rhode Island.	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce	6 years, 55 days	[26]
	Kate Brown (born 1960)	Oregon	February 18, 2015	January 9, 2023	Democratic	First openly bisexual governor and first openly LGBT elected governor. Elevated from Secretary of State. Later elected in her own right.	Term-limited	7 years, 325 days
	Kay Ivey (born 1944)	Alabama	April 10, 2017	Incumbent	Republican	Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right. Longest serving female governor.	Serving	8 years, 40 days	[27]
	Kim Reynolds (born 1959)	Iowa	May 24, 2017	Incumbent	Republican	First woman as Governor of Iowa. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.	Serving	7 years, 361 days	[28]
	Gretchen Whitmer (born 1971)	Michigan	January 1, 2019	Incumbent	Democratic		Serving	6 years, 139 days
	Michelle Lujan Grisham (born 1959)	New Mexico	January 1, 2019	Incumbent	Democratic		Serving	6 years, 139 days
	Janet Mills (born 1947)	Maine	January 2, 2019	Incumbent	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Maine.	Serving	6 years, 138 days
	Kristi Noem (born 1971)	South Dakota	January 5, 2019	January 25, 2025	Republican	First woman as Governor of South Dakota.	Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security	6 years, 20 days
	Laura Kelly (born 1950)	Kansas	January 14, 2019	Incumbent	Democratic		Serving	6 years, 126 days
	Kathy Hochul (born 1958)	New York	August 24, 2021	Incumbent	Democratic	First woman as Governor of New York. Elevated from Lieutenant Governor. Later elected in her own right.	Serving	3 years, 269 days
	Katie Hobbs (born 1969)	Arizona	January 2, 2023	Incumbent	Democratic		Serving	2 years, 138 days
	Maura Healey (born 1971)	Massachusetts	January 5, 2023	Incumbent	Democratic	First woman elected as Governor of Massachusetts. First openly lesbian governor.	Serving	2 years, 135 days
	Tina Kotek (born 1966)	Oregon	January 9, 2023	Incumbent	Democratic	First openly LGBT governor to succeed another openly LGBT governor.	Serving	2 years, 131 days
	Sarah Huckabee Sanders (born 1982)	Arkansas	January 10, 2023	Incumbent	Republican	First woman as Governor of Arkansas. Youngest current governor in the United States; first millennial governor.	Serving	2 years, 130 days
	Bethany Hall-Long (born 1963)	Delaware	January 7, 2025	January 21, 2025	Democratic	Elevated from Lieutenant Governor.	Term ended; Lost nomination for full term	14 days
	Kelly Ayotte (born 1968)	New Hampshire	January 9, 2025	Incumbent	Republican		Serving	132 days

Number of female governors by party

Party	Total number	Number of incumbents
Democratic	31	8
Republican	20	4
Total:	51	12

Number of female governors per state

# of governors	States	# of states
5	Arizona	1
4	New Hampshire	1
3	Kansas, Oregon	2
2	Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Washington	8
1	Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming	20
0	California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin	18

Pregnancies

Governors who have given birth while in office
Governor	State	Date of child's birth	Mother's age	Notes
Jane Swift	Massachusetts	May 14, 2001	36	First sitting governor or acting governor to give birth while in office. Gave birth to twin girls one month into her tenure as acting governor.[29]
Sarah Palin	Alaska	April 18, 2008	44	First elected sitting governor to give birth while in office. Gave birth to son, Trig, while in office.[30]

Territories and the District of Columbia

Image	Name (lifespan)	Jurisdiction	Term start	Term end	Party	Notes	Departure
	Sharon Pratt (born 1944)	District of Columbia	January 2, 1991	January 2, 1995	Democratic	First African American woman elected mayor of a major city. First woman as Mayor of the District of Columbia.	Lost renomination
	Sila Calderón (born 1942)	Puerto Rico	January 2, 2001	January 2, 2005	Popular Democratic/ Democratic	First woman as Governor of Puerto Rico. First Hispanic American woman as governor.	Retired
	Muriel Bowser (born 1972)	District of Columbia	January 2, 2015	Incumbent	Democratic		Serving
	Lou Leon Guerrero (born 1950)	Guam	January 7, 2019	Incumbent	Democratic	First woman as Governor of Guam. First Pacific Islander American woman as governor.	Serving
	Wanda Vázquez Garced (born 1960)	Puerto Rico	August 7, 2019	January 2, 2021	New Progressive/ Republican	Elevated from Secretary of Justice when Pedro Pierluisi was removed quo warranto.	Lost renomination
	Jenniffer González-Colón (born 1976)	Puerto Rico	January 2, 2025	Incumbent	New Progressive/ Republican		Serving

Number by party

Party	Total number	Number of incumbents
Democratic	4	2
Republican	2	1
Total:	5	3

Timeline of women serving as governors

Elections with two female major party nominees

Incumbent governors (at the time of the election) are in bold.

Elections with two female major party nominees
Election year	State	Winner	Second place finisher	Other female candidate(s)
1986	Nebraska	Kay A. Orr	Helen Boosalis
2002	Hawaii	Linda Lingle	Mazie Hirono
2010	New Mexico	Susana Martinez	Diane Denish
	Oklahoma	Mary Fallin	Jari Askins
2022	Alabama	Kay Ivey	Yolanda Flowers
	Arizona	Katie Hobbs	Kari Lake
	Iowa	Kim Reynolds	Deidre DeJear
	Michigan	Gretchen Whitmer	Tudor Dixon
	Oregon	Tina Kotek	Christine Drazan	Betsy Johnson
2024	New Hampshire	Kelly Ayotte	Joyce Craig

Upcoming elections

Election Year	State	Democratic Nominee	Republican Nominee
2025	Virginia	Abigail Spanberger	Winsome Earle-Sears

See also

• List of first gentlemen in the United States
• List of female lieutenant governors in the United States
• List of female first ministers in Canada
• List of female heads of government in Australia

Notes

1. Chamberlain and Shelton married each other 17 years later.^[3]
2. Roy succeeded Hugh Gallen, the outgoing governor of New Hampshire, who had died during his lame duck period after losing the 1982 election. Her governorship ended when the election's winner, John H. Sununu, was inaugurated as governor.
3. Vesta M. Roy served as Acting Governor of New Hampshire from December 29, 1982, to January 6, 1983.^[22]