The election of Republican Kelly Ayotte as New Hampshire's governor means 13 women will serve as a state's chief executive next year, breaking the record of 12 set after the 2022 elections. Governors hold powerful sway in American politics, shaping state policy and often using the experience and profile gained to launch campaigns for higher offices. "It matters to have women in those roles to normalize the image of women in political leadership, and even more specifically in executive leadership, where they're the sole leader, not just a member of a team," said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics, per the AP.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was floated as a potential Democratic nominee for president after President Biden exited the race. Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was thought to be in the running for President-elect Donald Trump's vice presidential post. Ayotte, a former US senator, defeated the Democratic nominee Joyce Craig, a former mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire's largest city. Still, 18 states have never had a woman in the governor's office. "This is another side of political leadership where women continue to be underrepresented," Dittmar said. "Thirteen out of 50 is still underrepresentation." Most voters tend to cast their ballots based on party loyalty and ideology rather than gender, Dittmar said.
However, she noted female candidates often face layers of scrutiny that male counterparts largely avoid, with voters judging such things as a woman's intelligence, appearance, and even dating history with a sharper lens. Executive roles, especially the presidency, often carry masculine stereotypes that women must work harder to overcome, Dittmar said. Experts say women confront these perceptions more acutely in executive races, such as for governor and president, than in state legislatures, where women are making historic strides as leaders. "Sexism, racism, misogyny—it's never the silver bullet. It's never why one voter acts one way or another," said Erin Vilardi, CEO of Vote Run Lead, a left-leaning group that supports women running for state legislatures. "But we have so much of that built in to how we see a leader." More here.
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