How Many Women Governors? v3 2011

by Karl Kurtz

Updating The Thicket's ever-popular biennial series on women governors, the total number of women governors after the 2010 election declined to six from eight after each of the four preceding elections. But the four Republican female governors elected last fall--Jan Brewer in Arizona, Susana Martinez in New Mexico, Mary Fallin in Oklahoma and Nikki Haley in South Carolina--are an all-time high for that party. The two Democratic holdovers are Gov. Christine Gregoire in Washington and Beverly Perdue of North Carolina.

Here's a chart showing the number of women governors since 1975 (before Connecticut's Ella Grasso in 1975 there were only three women governors, the first two starting in 1925):

Why the decline in the number of women governors? Politics and term limits: Among the eight who were in office in January 2009, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas resigned when she joined the Obama administration, Alaska's Sarah Palin resigned to pursue other options after her vice presidential campaign, and Linda Lingle (Hawaii), Jennifer Granholm (Michigan) and Jodi Rell (Connecticut) were term-limited. Only Gregoire, Brewer and Perdue continue from the 2009 class.

Comments

[Elle Kynzer]

We need more female governors.

[Gail Johnson]

Boldly going into an undiscovered universe, the trailblazing governors shattered the myth that women were too weak to succeed in politics and effectively lead state government.

Courage, intelligence, and integrity are their defining characteristics. Glittering like diamonds on the dark surface of politics, these six women believed politics was an instrument of service.

Who are the six remarkable women who blazed a trail to the governor’s office? They are: Connecticut’s Ella Grasso (1975-1980); Washington’s Dixy Lee Ray (1977-1981); Kentucky’s Martha Layne Collins (1983-1987; Vermont’s Madeleine May Kunin (1985-1991): Oregon’s Barbara Roberts (1991-1995); and New Jersey’s Christie Todd Whitman (1994-2001).

[Gail Johnson]

The book--Trailblazing Governors: Six Remarkable Women--is now available!. (ISBN-13: 978-1466277694)
It tells the stories of six women from the first generation of women governors elected between 1974 to 1994. Their achievements are important historically and they reveal what it is like to actually govern. Their wisdom and lessons learned will be of use to any who seeks to lead a political life.

It can be found at online, at your local bookstore or at https://www.createspace.com/3677866
More information can be found at: http://www.TrailblazingGovernors.net