| State | Nominee | Possible first |
|---|
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) | First woman governor of Georgia; first Black woman governor in the U.S. |
| New Mexico | Deb Haaland (D) | First Native American woman governor in the U.S. |
| Ohio | Amy Acton (D) | First woman elected governor of Ohio |
| Oregon | Christine Drazan (R) | First Republican woman governor of Oregon |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa (D) | First Latina governor of Texas |
| Minnesota, Tennessee | Amy Klobuchar (D), Marsha Blackburn (R) | First woman governor of each state |
","layout":"text"},{"role":"body","format":"markdown","text":"Ohio has had one woman governor, Republican Nancy Hollister, who served for 12 days after succeeding to the office rather than winning an election, CAWP notes. Our stories on the [Ohio governor's race](https://567politics.com/news/ohio-governor-acton-ramaswamy-election-eve-polls-money-positions-november-2026), the [Georgia races](https://567politics.com/news/georgia-senate-ossoff-collins-governor-final-polls-november-2026) and the [Texas governor's race](https://567politics.com/news/texas-governor-abbott-hinojosa-final-polls-november-2026) cover the contests in detail.\n\n## Why the parties differ on recruiting women\n\nThe two parties have long taken different approaches to the gender of their candidates, and those approaches help explain the gap in the numbers.\n\nOn the Democratic side, [EMILYs List](https://emilyslist.org/about/) has recruited, trained and funded women candidates for four decades. The group says it works \"to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country.\" It endorses only candidates who support abortion rights, so its help goes to one slice of women candidates.\n\nRepublican groups that back women candidates describe themselves as catching up. Rep. [Elise Stefanik](https://567politics.com/politicians/elise-stefanik) of New York started Elevate PAC, or E-PAC, after the 2018 midterms. That year she had recruited more than 100 women to run as the National Republican Congressional Committee's recruitment chair, but only one new Republican woman won a House seat. [E-PAC says](https://elevate-pac.com/about/) it was launched \"to increase that number by supporting top Republican female candidates in primaries across the country.\" It says it seeks to \"recruit, develop, support, and mentor\" women candidates \"who have demonstrated electability.\"\n\nDanielle Barrow, president of the Winning for Women Action Fund, told [Roll Call](https://rollcall.com/2026/02/24/texs-republican-women-house-elections/) in February that EMILYs List has \"a big jump-start\" and that her side's effort \"only started … seven or eight years ago.\" She added: \"So we are still playing catch-up.\" Barrow also said Republican women need to win \"safer seats,\" not only swing seats, to build long-term gains.\n\nTina Ramirez, a spokeswoman for Maggie's List, another PAC that backs conservative women, told Roll Call that Republican women \"are really strong candidates\" and that the party should invest in them. She also said there is \"usually a 3-point advantage when Republican women are running on a ticket.\" Roll Call did not cite a study for that figure, and 567politics could not verify it.\n\nMany Republicans reject the idea that a candidate's gender should matter at all. In 2018, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, then the incoming NRCC chairman, said Stefanik's plan to take sides in primaries was \"a mistake.\" He told [Roll Call](https://rollcall.com/2018/12/04/elise-stefanik-wants-to-play-in-primaries-to-help-republican-women/): \"It shouldn't be just based on looking for a specific set of ingredients — gender, race, religion — and then we're going to play in the primary.\"\n\nSome Republican women running this year make a similar case. \"You have to have merit,\" Jessica Hart Steinmann, a Texas House candidate, told Roll Call. \"It's not about identity politics.\" Alex Mealer, another Texas candidate, said, \"I'm not trying to fight for some special demographic.\"\n\nKelly Dittmar, CAWP's director of research, described the broader pattern to Roll Call this way: \"The Republican Party broadly speaking has really engaged in anti-identity politics.\" That framing helps explain why Republican groups that focus on women often stress electability and merit rather than representation as such.\n\n## What the data do not show\n\nThe CAWP counts measure who ran and who was nominated. They do not show why fewer Republican women run, and researchers disagree about the main causes. Possible explanations include the party's resistance to identity-based recruiting, a smaller network of donors focused on women candidates, and the number of Republican women nominees in districts that lean toward the other party.\n\nThe data also do not show how voters treat women candidates. Ramirez's claim of a built-in advantage for Republican women is not supported by a published study that 567politics could find.\n\nFinally, the pre-election ratings that CAWP uses are forecasts by analysts, not results. Our [methodology page](https://567politics.com/methodology) explains how 567politics treats polls and ratings. Results will come after polls close tonight, and some races may take days to count.","textStyle":"body","layout":"text"}]}