Minnesota, Tennessee set to elect first women governors as US record 26 run

Two American states that have never had a woman governor are now all but certain to elect one on November 3, 2026, according to election analysis published on October 14, 2026, and data from the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. In Tennessee, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn faces Democrat Jerri Green, a Memphis city councilwoman. In Minnesota, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar faces Republican Lisa DeMuth, the Speaker of the state House. Because both races are contests between two women, either result makes history in that state. The two races are part of a wider pattern: CAWP reports that a record number of women are major-party nominees for governor this year.

The office of governor has been one of the hardest for women in the United States to reach. A governor runs a state's government, prepares its budget and commands its emergency response, and the job has long served as a stepping stone to national office. Many states, including some of the largest, have never elected a woman to it. When two more states move off that list in a single election, it changes who young women in those places see in the top job.

The two races show different routes to the same result. In Tennessee, Blackburn is a long-serving member of Congress running in a state that forecasters rate as safe for her party. In Minnesota, Klobuchar, also a senior senator, stepped in after the sitting governor left the race, and she faces a Republican opponent who already holds the most senior post in the state House. In both states, voters choosing on party lines will still be choosing a woman.

The wider numbers are mixed. CAWP's data show a record for women nominated for governor and a record for Democratic women in particular, while the count of Republican women nominees for governor is below that party's 2022 peak of nine. At the congressional level, the number of women nominees has not returned to earlier highs: 19 for the Senate and 271 for the House are both short of past records, although the House figure is above the 259 of 2024. Researchers who track women in politics point out that a record in one office can sit alongside stalled progress in another, which is why they look at each level of government separately.

Short-term: Unless something unexpected happens before November 3, Minnesota and Tennessee will each swear in their first woman governor in January 2027. Because both contests are between two women, the historic first is settled whichever candidate wins.

Long-term: Every state that elects a woman governor for the first time adds to the pool of women with executive experience who may later run for national office. If several of the 26 women nominees win, the number of women leading US states could rise, though final figures depend on results in other states.

Who is affected: Voters in Minnesota and Tennessee; women considering a run for executive office; political parties recruiting candidates; and researchers and readers following the progress of women in public leadership worldwide.

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