New Record for Democratic Women Gubernatorial Nominees
And Other Results from the Massachusetts Primaries from CAWP
Primary elections were held yesterday in Massachusetts. Full results for women candidates in federal and statewide executive races are available on this post on our Election Analysis page; there are no undecided races featuring women candidates, so this post contains the final results for women candidates in these contests.
With incumbent Governor Maura Healey winning nomination for reelection in an unopposed contest, there are now a record number of Democratic women gubernatorial nominees. In 2026, 17 Democratic women are nominees for governor; the previous record of 16 was set in 2022. This number is likely to rise with upcoming primaries. There are currently seven Republican women nominees for governor; with just two Republican women running in upcoming gubernatorial primaries, it is possible that the record for Republican women gubernatorial candidates, currently nine, could be tied but not broken.
Massachusetts
- Incumbent Governor Maura Healey (D) and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll (D) were unopposed in the primary. They will run again on the same general election ticket in a contest currently rated as “Solid Democrat” by Cook Political Report. Healey and Driscoll became the first all-woman ticket to win a gubernatorial election in 2022.
- In 2026, other all-woman gubernatorial tickets have advanced to the general election in Alaska (Republicans Candi English and Jodi Taylor), Michigan (Democrats Jocelyn Benson and Winnie Brink), New Mexico (Democrats Deb Haaland and Maggie Toulouse Oliver), and New York (Democrats Kathy Hochul and Adrienne Adams).
- Women are running separately as general election nominees this year for governor and lieutenant governor from the same party in Arkansas (Republican incumbents Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Leslie Rutledge), Texas (Democrats Gina Hinojosa and Vikki Goodwin), and Vermont (Democrats Amanda Janoo and Molly Gray).
- Women have simultaneously held the governor and lieutenant governor roles in four states to date: Arkansas (ran separately), Iowa (LG appointed to fill a vacancy after election), Massachusetts (ran as joint general election ticket), and Virginia (ran separately).
- Women are 6 of 10 (60%) major-party nominees for statewide elective executive office, including governor and lieutenant governor, in Massachusetts, including 5 of 6 (83.3%) Democrats and 1 of 4 (25%) Republicans.
- Women are 3 of 14 (21.4%) major-party nominees for U.S. House in Massachusetts, including 3 of 9 (33.3%) Democrats and 0 of 5 (0%) Republicans.
- All three nominees are incumbents in races in which they are heavily favored.
For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2026 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.