Record number of women are running for governor in ’18

WASHINGTON — More women are running for governor in the U.S. this year than ever before, spurred by a Democratic backlash against President Donald Trump and a whopping 18 states on the November ballot but have no incumbent in the race.

With some state filing deadlines still ahead, as many as 77 women are expected to run in almost all of the 36 states with a governor’s race this year, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. That would be more than double the record of 34 female candidates in 1994.

After all the votes are in, it’s possible the number of female governors will meet or exceed the record of nine serving at once, which occurred in 2004 and 2007, said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks gubernatorial elections for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

All four of the incumbent female governors up for re-election this year — in Alabama, Iowa, Oregon and Rhode Island — are favored to win. Retiring New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, is widely expected to be replaced by another woman, Democratic U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

And in heavily Republican South Dakota and Tennessee, Reps. Kristi Noem and Diane Black have real shots at their governor’s mansions as the current occupants retire. Of female candidates for governor in 2018, 36 percent are Republicans, compared with 25 percent among contenders for the U.S. House.

While primaries are months away in many states, a number of other women already are emerging as top-tier candidates. Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa is picking up key endorsements in her primary contest against incumbent Hawaii Gov. David Ige and, if she prevails, would be the likely victor in November in the heavily Democratic state.

Nearly two-thirds of the women running for governor are Democrats.