There are currently a record 27 women running for Governor across 25 states, which is two more than the previous record of 25 in 2022.

Despite their states being more than 1100 miles apart, two high profile races for Governor have one thing in common. Sitting US Senators Marsha Blackburn (R) in Tennessee and Amy Klobuchar (D)  in Minnesota are running for Governor of their states. Senator Klobuchar has served in the Senate for nearly 20 years, while Marsha Blackburn has been a member of Congress since 2003 and elected to the Senate in 2019. Historically, voters are more comfortable supporting women candidates for a  deliberative body like a legislature, but require more evidence women are qualified when seeking executive office like Governor. But neither Senator is starting from square one with voters. Years of constant local news cycles and high-profile legislative debates mean voters already know who they are, giving them a head start on the typical readiness question.

In New Mexico, Former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is running against longtime Mayor of Rio Rancho, Gregg Hull. Previous Barbara Lee Family Foundation (BLFF) research shows that when it comes to running for executive office, men can simply release their resume to voters while women have to do more to prove they are up to the job. Women have to show while men can tell. Serving as a Cabinet Secretary provides critical executive-level experience on Haaland’s resume, which could persuade voters as they compare her to a man who has held local executive office for more than a decade.

If either or both Senators win their election, they will join an exclusive club. While dozens of men have done so over the years, only one woman has ever gone from the US Senate to the Governor’s office. While Senators Maggie Hassan and Jean Shaheen previously served as New Hampshire Governor before being elected to their current Senate seats, current New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte is the only woman who ever served in the Senate before serving as Governor (so much trailblazing in New Hampshire!).

Three men (including Andrew Cuomo and Bill Richardson in more recent decades) have gone from serving as a Cabinet Secretary to Governor, but no woman has ever done so. Former Cabinet Secretaries like Jennifer Granholm, Janet Napolitano, Kristi Noem, Gina Raimondo, Kathleen Sebelius, and Christine Todd Whitman all served as Governors before being appointed to Cabinet positions, but Deb Haaland would be the first woman who ever served in the Cabinet before becoming Governor.

There is much to analyze in the coming weeks, with 27 women running in 25 states. No matter what, all of these women will challenge stereotypes and continue to chip away at the Imagination Barrier.