17 states have never had a female U.S. senator; 18 There has never been a female governor

If Kamala Harris becomes president this November, she will become the first woman ever elected to the highest political office in the United States.

Similar innovations could also be coming in political battles across the country: Five U.S. Senate races and two for governor will feature a major-party candidate who, if elected, would be the first woman in her state to hold office. And in Minnesota, a woman will become governor for the first time if current Gov. Tim Walz is elected to serve as Harris’ vice president.

Overall, 17 states have never had a female senator, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of historical Senate records. Senate elections this fall in Delaware, Indiana, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Utah will feature a woman candidate who could be the first in the state.

Three of these candidates (Lisa Blunt Rochester state of Delaware Valerie McCray Indiana and Caroline Gleich of Utah) are Democrats, and two (Nella Domenici New Mexico and Patricia Morgan Rhode Island) are Republicans.

Blunt Rochester and McCray would also become the first black senators to represent their states.

Among the 18 states that have never had a female governor, two—Indiana and Missouri—have a woman on the ballot in this year’s general election. Jennifer McCormick Indiana and Crystal Quaid from Missouri, both are Democratic candidates.

And in Minnesota, the lieutenant governor. Peggy Flanagan will take over as governor if Walz is elected vice president. This would make her the first woman and first Native American to hold the position.

Five states have no female senator or female governor: Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Women served in many states. executive and legislative offices for decades, including in all states where they had not already held Senate seats or governorships. And every state has sent at least one woman to the US House of Representatives.

Women in the 118th Senate

In the current Congress, women hold 25 of the 100 Senate seats. record high. They represent a total of 21 states. In Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire and Washington, both senators are women.

Fourteen of the 25 current senators are the first women to represent their state in the Senate. Their terms vary: Washington Democrat Patty Murray served in the Senate since 1993, while Wyoming Republican Cynthia Lummis took office in 2021.

Fifteen current female senators are Democrats, nine are Republicans, and one (Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona) is an independent. Looking at the Senate as a whole, women make up a larger share of the Democratic caucus (31%) than the Republican caucus (18%).

Centenary in the Senate

Women have served in the Senate for more than a century. In 1922 Rebecca Latimer FeltonGeorgian suffragette became the first female senator. She was appointed to a vacant seat and served for only one day.

Since then, a total of 60 women have served in the Senate, representing 33 states, most of whom have served in recent decades. About three quarters (46 people) first took office after 1980.

Just over half (19) of the states that have ever had a woman represent the Senate sent more than one nominee.

Four women represented California in the Senate, the most of any state. Besides Harris, who represented the state from 2017 to 2021, this group includes two long-serving senators. Democrat Diane Feinstein took office in 1992 and held the position until her death in 2023. Barbara Boxeralso a Democrat, was in office from 1993 to 2017.

Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska and New Hampshire each sent three women to the Senate.

Connected: 22 states have ever elected a black woman to Congress.

Women at the Governor’s Mansion

Since 1925, when two women first took the oath of office, there have been 49 women governors in 32 states.

That year Nellie Tayloe Ross Wyoming was nominated in a special election and won the governorship after the death of her husband, Governor William Ross. Miriam “Ma” Ferguson Texas, the first woman ever elected to office in a general election, was sworn in just 15 days later.

Currently, women serve as governors in 12 states. Eight are Democrats and four are Republicans.

Five of the current governors are the first women elected in their state: Democrats Janet Mills of Maine and Kathy Hochul of New York; and Republicans Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas.

Arizona has had five women serve as governor since 1988, the most of any state. In fact, three women served consecutively for 17 years for the Republican Party. Jane Hull 1997 ascension to Republican Ian Brewer left his post in 2015.