More Women Are Running For Governor In 2026 Than Ever In American History

A total of 85 women from major parties are running for governor across 36 states in 2026, according to data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics, surpassing the previous record of 69 set in 2022 by a significant margin and marking what researchers are calling one of the most consequential midterm cycles for women's political representation in American history. Fifty-one of those candidates are Democrats, also a record, and 34 are Republicans, reflecting bipartisan momentum that the center's researchers say reflects years of pipeline-building at state and local levels. At the congressional level, 580 women are currently running for seats in the US House of Representatives, only three short of the all-time record set in 2018 and 2020, with Louisiana's filing deadline not yet passed and the record still potentially within reach. The number of Democratic women running for House seats has already reached an all-time high at 387.

Among the gubernatorial candidates are several who could make history of their own if they win in November. Deb Haaland, the former US Secretary of the Interior running in New Mexico, would become the first Native American woman governor in any US state if elected. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are each running to become the first woman ever elected governor of their respective states. At the congressional level, Melat Kiros in Colorado is positioned to become the first Black woman to represent the state, Aisha Wahab in California would be the first Middle Eastern or North African woman from that state, and Denise Powell in Nebraska could become the first Democratic woman to represent her state in Congress. CAWP scholar Kelly Dittmar noted that when we think about women moving to serve as chief executives of states as a potential pathway to the presidency, it is something that always bears watching, and that the 2026 cycle represents more opportunity along that pathway than any previous election has offered.

Source:https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/women-running-for-governor