Glass ceiling in politics has been stubbornly resistant

Next week, New Jersey and Virginia will elect men as governors. And next year, so too will most states.

But Kathy Hochul and others hope to break one of the most resistant glass ceilings in American politics, the inability of women to win governorships of the nation’s most populous states.

Forty-five women have either been elected or succeeded to the office — of the hundreds of governors in U.S. history. Nine are currently serving. But the 10 largest states have had but seven, only five of whom were elected: Texans Miriam (Ma) Ferguson and Ann Richards, Beverly Perdue of North Carolina, and current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan.

By contrast, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute, 143 women have served in Congress including 58 in the Senate, representing all of the 10 largest states but Ohio and Pennsylvania.

At the heart of this inequality is the difficulty women candidates face in raising money.

A 2020 report by the institute found a connection between the fact that women are outnumbered by men both as contributors and as candidates in governors’ races.

“While money is not the only factor in elections, the candidate with the most money raised was more successful in both primaries and general elections than other candidates,” the report said.

The difficulties encountered by women candidates are underscored by their difficulty in winning major executive positions, including the presidency.

Before former California Sen. Kamala Harris became the first woman to win the vice presidency in 2020, three women were unsuccessful major party nominees — Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin for vice president, and Hillary Rodham Clinton for president.

That barrier could be tested again in 2024. With many analysts doubtful that President Joe Biden will seek a second term, Harris looms as the early Democratic front-runner. But her party’s field could well include other women, including unsuccessful 2020 hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump’s ill-concealed desire to regain the presidency could short-circuit any open contest for the 2024 GOP nomination. But Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney is showing signs of running as an anti-Trump candidate, and at least two other women are displaying interest if Trump doesn’t run, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

Next year, 36 states will elect governors, and in a majority of those states, women are seeking to become major party nominees, including eight expected to seek reelection. But it would take a real breakthrough for women to win a majority of the races.

Only two incumbents, Michigan’s Whitmer and New York’s Hochul, are from among the 10 largest states. Whitmer was elected in 2018, and Hochul ascended in August, after predecessor Andrew Cuomo resigned under pressure because of a sexual harassment scandal.

Hochul said she would seek a full four-year term in 2022, but immediately attracted potential Democratic primary opposition.

Polls Attorney General Leticia James, would be Hochul’s top primary opponent if she runs. James led the probe leading to Cuomo’s resignation.

Female Democratic officeholders are already running in Florida and Ohio. In Florida, Nikki Fried, the elected state agriculture commissioner, and Annette Taddeo, a Miami state senator, are among three Democrats running to oppose Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. In Ohio, Dayton Mayor Whaley hopes to challenge GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.

Hochul will be a strong reelection favorite in heavily Democratic New

York if she survives a primary challenge. Whitmer starts as the early favorite for a second term in Michigan.

But other women would face uphill races. The glass ceiling for winning executive office remains strong.