Women Stride Toward Governors’ Mansions: Where We Can Make A Difference in 2010
May 15, 2009
by Judy Silver
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Adelaide “Alex” Sink this week announced her candidacy for the governorship of Florida, aiming to replace Charlie Crist, who will run for the U.S. Senate in 2010. According to Tampa Bay Online, Sink, who currently is the state’s Chief Financial Officer, is likely to run unopposed in the Democratic primary, and is likely to face Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum in the general election. Though Bill McCollum is more widely known in the state, one early poll has the candidates virtually tied. In other words, this is an election in which women advocating for women could decide the election!
Women also could tip the election in Texas, where a Rasmussan poll shows U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson in a “toss-up” with incumbent Governor Rick Perry in the Republican primary. The winner of that primary is expected to take the Governor’s mansion. Texas’ Junior Senator John Cornyn speculated this week that Hutchinson will resign her senate seat in the fall (after the date that would trigger a special election) to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.
Women currently hold the governorships of seven states. Which of those seven can we retain in 2010? Probably not Hawaii, where no women appear to be contending for the seat of term-limited Linda Lingle. The landscape also looks tough in Michigan, where Jennifer Granholm is term limited. Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is running, and U.S. Rep Candice Miller has been mentioned, though both women face stiff competition in the wide field of the Republican primary. Current governors Jan Brewer of Arizona, Jodi Rell of Connecticut, and Sarah Palin of Alaska will have the advantage of running as incumbents (though Rell and Palin have yet to announce). Christine Gregoire of Washington and Beverly Purdue of North Carolina are not up for re-election until 2012.
So, if women were to gain the governorships of Florida and Texas, and lose those of Hawaii and one other state, that would leave us even. What other states might we pick up to keep our numbers advancing?
There could be two win-win situations in which a female republican faces a female democrat. In New Mexico, Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish is a favorite for the democratic nomination, and she could face republican State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones or former U.S. Rep Heather Wilson. Oklahoma also looks interesting, because if Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins can win her primary, she’ll likely face former Lt. Governor Mary Fallin in the general.
Other women who are running or are speculated to be running for governor include:
- Alabama: State Treasurer Kay Ivey
- California: former e-Bay head Meg Whitman (see previous blog post)
- Georgia: Secretary of State Karen Handel
- Maine: House Speaker Hannah Pingree; former Green Party Chair Lynne Williams
- Minnesota: Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner; House Speaker Margaret Kelliher
- Nevada: State Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, State Treasurer Kate Marshall, State Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto
- Rhode Island: Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Roberts
- South Dakota: U.S. Rep Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
- Tennessee: former State House Majority Leader Kim McMillan
- Wisconsin: Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton
And there may yet be some surprises. In heavily-democratic Massachusetts, incumbent democratic Governor Deval Patrick might seem like a shoo-in. On the other hand, his approval ratings are toxic. Might a woman challenge him?
What are you hearing about the Governor’s race in your state? Who are your favorite women candidates? Who are you watching?
Yesterday Republican State Rep. Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for governor of South Carolina. She has fought to topple the good ol’ boy network in South Carolina and has made a name for herself in the State House pushing for full government transparency and accountability.
This is a topic for another post and/or another day, but reading your post, what stands out to me is the role term limits have played in this situation. I was never in favor of term limits, though the CW back in the 80s when they started to gain favor was that term limits would help usher out tough to beat incumbents in favor of different, newer individuals.
I’ve not read up much on this lately, and as a local candidate myself for the first time, I agree that incumbency is incredibly powerful. BUT…if recruitment isn’t going on (so there aren’t women in the pipeline to take advantage of the term limits), or women aren’t already in political office from which they can move (Hutchison), or if they don’t have a boatload of money and name recognition already (Meg Whitman), then what good are the term limits, right?
Anyway – in the bigger picture of how we can make strides, I think it’s important to examine the ground and environment upstream, midstream and downstream.
I can’t speak for other states, but here in Ohio, and Cynthia might want to add to this thought – please!
– I feel as though both formal parties’ structures play an enormous role in who gets to be promoted as the gubernatorial candidate. The Ohio dem party is ahead of the GOP in terms of formal outreach to women, but when it comes to promoting a woman for governor anytime soon? I don’t see it. As much as I like our current AG, Rich Cordray, the CW is that he’s being primed for governor. I think he’d make a good governor, but I do wish we’d see some women rising to that level. I adore Jennifer Brunner, but she’s made it clear that she’s going for the US Senate or nothing. So I’d ask fellow Ohioans, from where do we see any female gubernatorial candidate??
Thanks for this post – it’s a really important observation.
Governorships are great leadership positions. I think that women Governors are more powerful role models than women Senators or Cabinet members are.
I agree with what John Horning said but would add being a Governor can easily lead to the House/Senate where the national power lies.
Oh yes, Palin proved that women will rally around the right candidate. About 20 million “Hillary Women” who were unhappy with the media and Obama during the campaign were about ot pull the lever for McCain until they heard the hateful, moronic Palin speak at the Convention. At that point–almost to a person–they switched back to Obama. Palin indeed proved that women make the right judgment at election time.
Daivie, did you know your entire comment is incredibly anti-woman?
I will just direct you to this post…
http://www.noquarterusa.net/bl.....ternating/
Hey Daivie – keep believing the misogynist press – this Hillary woman pulled the lever for Palin.
I’m a Californian–Meg Whitman is opposed to gay marriage. There are other candidates in the race (or who are expected to enter the race) who are ardent supporters of marriage equality. I will be voting for one of them, as will many progressives.
Gale, wouldn’t be better to vote for the candidate who is best for the economy and for solving budgets? Gay marriage affects only gays; the economy affects everyone. Furthermore, poverty leads to heightened rates of violence among other things…
Gay marriage only affects gays? So, by that logic, sexism only affects women? Jim Crow laws only affected black people? Anti-semitism only affects Jews?
Everyone suffers when prejudice is directed against a certain segment of society. All of society suffers when women are discriminated against, when black people are discriminated against, etc. It affects me to see my gay friends made to feel like second-class citizens, and if I have the opportunity to vote for a governor who might end that, I am going to.
Perhaps if I believed that the other candidates would be terrible for CA’s economy, things would be different. But I see no evidence that Meg Whitman would be better for the economy than the people she is currently running against.
Well, gays are the only people who can’t marry, so I’d say “yes, it only affects gays.” People who sympathize with them are affected indirectly but not to the extent as gays. Sexism and racism are more broad and far-reaching terms. A policy or belief that is simply anti-marriage would be more far-reaching and would affect homosexuals and heterosexuals equally. I don’t want to argue about gay marriage because my attitude toward marriage itself is entirely different from both mainstream liberals and mainstream conservatives. I’d rather just talk about validity of marriage itself.
The fact that gay people are not allowed to get married is a form of bigotry. Bigotry infects all of society. Gay people not being allowed to get married–not being allowed to fully enter into society–affects all of society in a negative way. Interracial marriage used to be illegal. That was pretty terrible thing for society, not just for black people and white people who wanted to get married but couldn’t.
A debate about the validity of marriage as an institution is a different matter. The point is that we have marriage as an important institution, and I’m not going to vote for someone for governor who wants to randomly exclude an entire segment of society from that institution.
Gale,
I’m just curious who you voted for in regard to the POTUS position. Was it someone who was for or against gay marriage?
Both Republicans and Democrats were against gay marriage. I don’t know much about the Libertarians or Greens on that matter.
Hillary and Obama were both against gay marriage–there were no viable options who supported it, unfortunately.
Gay marriage isn’t the only issue I care about. But in this race there are several viable options who support it–it is far easier for Democrats to support gay marriage on the state level than the national level–and I will be taking advantage of that fact and supporting one of them.
I voted Clinton AND Palin, child. And I made the right choice. Period.
And don’t you DARE get on my ass about blind voting, since that’s precisely what you’re extolling — you are free to BLINDLY choose the Democrat, and I’m free to BLINDLY chose the woman. PERIOD.
And don’t give me any garbage about how the parties involve ideological differences and different beliefs. Clearly, they don’t anymore. At all. Your sparkly pink fluffball of love Obama voted in favor of the Iraq war every chance he got, voted with the Bush-Cheney energy bill, and voted to shove obscene amounts of money at the idiots who have pretty much tanked an entire planet’s financial stability.
AND they are all against gay marriage, and Obama doesn’t sound like a defender of choice, either. So do not pull that junk with me.
I will blindly vote for the XX chromosomes, and you feel free to blindly vote for the guy in the donkey suit. Only at least I know what I’m getting, whereas you seem to be fooled by a whole lot of elephants in donkey jackets.
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