Growing Number of Women Launch Bids for Governor
Originally published by Julia Manchester for The Hill
A growing number of Republican and Democratic women are gearing up to run for governor in the 2025 and 2026 elections as more women take the helm of state capitals across the country.
History will be made in Virginia this November as Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) vie to be the commonwealth’s first female governor. Meanwhile in New Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) is running to become that state’s second female governor.
A number of incumbent female governors, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders (R), are running for reelection while other candidates including Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms are running to become governor of their respective states for the first time.