Women in Elective Office 2020

Congress
126
(105D, 21R)
23.6% of 535 seats

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the first woman Speaker of the House, holds the highest position in the House and is second in line of presidential succession.

U.S. Senate
25
(17D, 8R)
25% of 100 seats
U.S. House
101
(88D, 13R)
23.2% of 435 seats
U.S. Delegate
4
(2D, 2R)

U.S. Delegates are non-voting members and are not included in our total counts.

Statewide Elective Executive
90
(48D, 40R, 2NP)
29% of 310 seats
Governor
9
(6D, 3R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Kate Brown D 2015-2022 Oregon
Kay E. Ivey R 2017-present Alabama
Laura J. Kelly D 2019-present Kansas
Michelle Lujan Grisham D 2019-present New Mexico
Janet T. Mills D 2019-present Maine
Kristi Noem R 2019-present South Dakota
Gina M. Raimondo D 2015-2021 Rhode Island
Kimberly Reynolds R 2017-present Iowa
Gretchen E. Whitmer D 2019-present Michigan
Lieutenant Governor
15
(10D, 5R)
Name Party Year(s) Served State
Susan Bysiewicz D 2019-present Connecticut
Jacqueline Coleman D 2020-present Kentucky
Suzanne Crouch R 2017-present Indiana
Pamela Evette R 2019-present South Carolina
Peggy Flanagan D/DFL 2019-present Minnesota
Bethany A. Hall-Long D 2017-present Delaware
Kathy C. Hochul D 2015-2021 New York
Eleni Kounalakis D 2019-present California
Kate Marshall D 2019-2021 Nevada
Janice K. McGeachin R 2019-2022 Idaho
Jeanette M. Nunez R 2019-present Florida
Sheila Y. Oliver D 2018-2023 New Jersey
Karyn E. Polito R 2015-2022 Massachusetts
Dianne I. Primavera D 2019-present Colorado
Juliana Stratton D 2019-present Illinois
Other Statewide Elective Executive
66
(32D, 32R, 2NP)
Position Democrat Republican Non-Partisan Total
Secretary of State 7 4 - 11
Attorney General 5 3 - 8
State Treasurer 5 5 - 10
State Auditor 6 4 - 10
Agriculture Commissioner 1 - - 1
Commissioner of Lands 2 - - 2
Commissioner of Labor 1 2 - 3
Public Service Commissioner - 3 - 3
Superintendent of Public Instruction 2 6 1 9
State Comptroller 3 - - 3
Corporation Commissioner 1 2 - 3
Insurance Commissioner - 1 - 1
Public Utilities Commissioner - 1 - 1
Railroad Commissioner - 1 - 1
State Legislature
2,160
(1,463D, 674R, 14NP, 5Ind, 4Prg)
29.3% of 7,383 seats

Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

NP = non-partisan, Ind = Independent, Prg = Progressive

 

State Senate
520
(336D, 170R, 14NP)
26.4% of 1,972 seats
State House/Assembly
1,640
(1,127D, 504R, 5Ind, 4Prg)
30.3% of 5,411 seats
Top 10 States
  • Nevada (54.0%)
  • Colorado (44.0%)
  • Oregon (42.2%)
  • Washington (40.8%)
  • Vermont (40.6%)
  • Maryland (39.9%)
  • Arizona (38.9%)
  • Maine (37.6%)
  • Rhode Island (37.2%)
  • Alaska (36.7%)
  • Illinois (36.7%)
Bottom 10 States
  • West Virginia (13.4%)
  • Tennessee (15.2%)
  • Wyoming (15.6%)
  • Alabama (15.7%)
  • Mississippi (16.1%)
  • South Carolina (16.5%)
  • Louisiana (18.1%)
  • Oklahoma (21.5%)
  • North Dakota (22.0%)
  • Delaware (24.2%)
Mayors – Cities over 30,000
378
23.3% of 1,621 seats

Population data from the U.S. Census and officeholder data from the Center for American Women and Politics as of June 2020.

Mayors – 100 Most Populous Cities
27
27% of 100 seats

Of the 27 women mayors in the top 100 most populous cities as of June 2020, 6 are Black women, 2 are Latina, and 2 are Asian American/Pacific Islander women.​​​​​​​

Current Mayors of the 100 Most Populous Cities
City Mayor Rank Race/Ethnicity
Chicago, IL Lori Lightfoot 3 Black
Phoenix, AZ Kate Gallego 5 White
Fort Worth, TX Betsy Price 13 White
Charlotte, NC Vi Alexander Lyles 15 Black
San Franciso, CA London Breed 16 Black
Seattle, WA Jenny Durkan 19 White
Washington, DC Muriel Bowser 21 Black
Las Vegas, NV Carolyn Goodman 28 White
Tucson, AZ Regina Romero 34 Latina
Atlanta, GA Keisha Lance Bottoms 38 Black
Omaha, NE Jean Stothert 42 White
Raleigh, NC Mary-Ann Baldwin 43 White
Oakland, CA Elizabeth "Libby" Schaaf 47 White
Tampa, FL Jane Castor 50 White
New Orleans, LA LaToya Cantrell 52 Black
Bakersfield, CA Karen K. Goh 54 Asian American/Pacific Islander
Islip, NY Angie M. Carpenter 61 White
Lexington, KY Linda Gorton 63 White
Henderson, NV Debra March 64 White
St. Louis, MO Lyda Krewson 68 White
Greensboro, NC Nancy Vaughan 71 White
Lincoln, NE Leirion Gaylor Baird 72 White
Irvine, CA Christina L. Shea 76 White
Chula Vista, CA Mary Casillas Salas 79 Latina
Madison, WI Satya Rhodes-Conway 86 White
Reno, NV Hillary Schieve 89 White
Fremont, CA Lily Mei 97 Asian American/Pacific Islander
Percentages of Women in Elective Office 1971-Present

Table below provides data on women as a percentage of women officeholders at the congressional, statewide elective executive, and state legislative levels from 1971 to present. All but present counts reflect levels of women’s representation at the end of that calendar year.

Year U.S. Congress Statewide Elective Statewide Legislatures
1971 3.0% 7.0% N/A
1973 3.0% 8.0% N/A
1975 4.0% 10.0% 8.0%
1977 4.0% 10.0% 9.0%
1979 3.0% 11.0% 10.0%
1981 4.0% 11.0% 12.0%
1983 4.0% 11.0% 13.0%
1985 5.0% 14.0% 15.0%
1987 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1989 5.0% 14.0% 16.0%
1991 6.0% 18.0% 18.0%
1993 10.1% 22.2% 20.5%
1995 10.3% 25.9% 20.6%
1997 11.0% 25.4% 21.6%
1999 12.1% 27.6% 22.4%
2001 13.6% 27.6% 22.4%
2003 13.6% 26.0% 22.4%
2005 15.0% 25.7% 22.4%
2007 16.1% 24.1% 23.5%
2009 16.8% 22.6% 24.3%
2011 16.8% 22.1% 23.7%
2012 16.8% 23.4% 23.7%
2013 18.5% 23.0% 24.2%
2014 18.7% 23.0% 24.3%
2015 19.4% 24.8% 24.6%
2016 19.6% 24.1% 24.5%
2017 19.6% 22.8% 25.1%
2018 20.6% 23.8% 25.4%
2019 23.7% 29.3% 28.9%
2020 23.6% 28.9% 29.3%