Of the 629 women who have ever served in statewide elective executive office in the United States (including 69 women who served in more than one position), only 72 (11.4 percent) are women from historically marginalized racial and ethnic communities, according to new data from the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Among these 72 women of color (only two of whom have served in more than one statewide elective executive office) are 13 Asian American/Pacific Islander women, 26 Black women, 30 Hispanic/Latina women, and four Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women. To date, no Middle Eastern/North African women have served in statewide elective executive office in the United States.
By racial/ethnic group, the first women to serve in statewide elective executive office are Soledad C. Chacon, the first Hispanic/Latina woman, who served as secretary of state in New Mexico from 1923 to 1926; March Fong Eu, the first Asian American/Pacific Islander woman, who served as secretary of state in California from 1975 to 1994; Vel R. Phillips, the first Black woman, who served as secretary of state in Wisconsin from 1979 to 1982; and Sandy Garrett, the first Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian woman, who served as superintendent of public instruction in Oklahoma from 1991 to 2010.
At the governor level, the first women from historically marginalized racial/ethnic communities were elected in 2010: Nikki Haley, who identifies as Asian American, served as South Carolina’s governor from 2011 to 2017 and Susana Martinez, who identifies as Latina, served as New Mexico’s governor from 2011 to 2019. No Black, Middle Eastern/North African, or Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women have served as governor in the United States.
Beyond governor, the first women of color in statewide elective executive offices include, Soledad C. Chacon, secretary of state in New Mexico from 1923 to 1926; Jean Sadako King, who identifies as Asian American/Pacific Islander, lieutenant governor of Hawaii from 1979 to 1982; Pamela Carter, who identifies as Black, attorney general of Indiana from 1993 to 1996; Denise L. Nappier, who identifies as Black, treasurer of Connecticut from 1999 to 2018; and Kathleen K. McGuiness, who identifies as multiracial, auditor of Delaware from 2019 to 2022.
No Middle Eastern/North African or Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women have ever served as attorney general, secretary of state, or state treasurer. Additionally, no Asian American/Pacific Islander, Latina, Middle Eastern/North African, or Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian women have ever served as a state auditor.