Election 2026: Women governors and what November holds

This November, 36 states are holding gubernatorial races, making 2026 a big turnover year in state houses. This year also puts a major spotlight on women governors. Right now, a record 14 women serve as governors, 10 Democrats and 4 Republicans. However, six (four Democrats, two Republicans) of those women are not running for re-election.

Two current women governors, Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), both were just elected in November 2025 and aren't up again this election cycle.

Why It Matters

With 43% of the current women governors departing office, maintaining or surpassing women’s gubernatorial representation will rely heavily on the success of non-incumbent women gubernatorial candidates.   

The 14 women governors and their states are as follows: Kay Ivey (R-AL), Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Laura Kelly (D-KS), Janet Mills (D-ME), Maura Healey (D-MA), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Tina Kotek (D-OR), Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).

Of the current women governors not running:

●      Term-limited (5): Kay Ivey (R-AL), Laura Kelly (D-KS), Janet Mills (D-ME), Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), and Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) are all hitting constitutional term limits, and not choosing to step down voluntarily. (Mills, notably, is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Susan Collins.)

●      Retiring (1): Kim Reynolds (R-IA), Iowa’s first woman governor and who has served almost 10 years, announced she will not seek another term.

Six current woman governors are running for re-election: Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Maura Healey (D-MA), Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), Kathy Hochul (D-NY), Tina Kotek (D-OR), Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR).

The Open-Seat Wave Could Reshape the Map
Several notable non-incumbent women are running competitively for governorships that have never been held by a woman, including former Rep. Katie Porter and Betty Yee in California, Sen. Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Nancy Mace in Tennessee and South Carolina respectively.

In addition, former Rep. and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in New Mexico, if she wins, would be the first Native American woman governor.  And former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, if she wins, would be the first Black woman governor in U.S. history.

It's also, according to CAWP, an all-time record year for women candidates overall: 85 women are running for governor nationwide, well above the previous high of 69 set in 2022, though women still make up only about a quarter of all gubernatorial candidates.

Given the number of term-limited departures, whether the record of 14 holds, grows, or shrinks after November depends heavily on how these open-seat and toss-up races end up.

Related WRDI Reporting

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Resources

Gender & Politics Research Hub – CAWP (Center for American Women and Politics) at Rutgers
Women Candidates in 2026 — CAWP