Sanchez is a former intern for RepresentWomen.
I am hopeful for the remainder of 2022.
I hope this line in itself is captivating enough to entice readers to continue; how could one be so optimistic about a year filled with devastating Supreme Court decisions and a series of mass shootings? This may very well be the year of the woman governor – and that is all the reassurance I need to brighten the last few months of the year.
Since America’s birth 246 years ago, only 45 women have served as governor; 42 of whom have been white women and only three being women of color. Today, nine women hold gubernatorial office – six Democrats and three Republicans. Lou Leon Guerrero currently serves as governor in the U.S. territory Guam. Black and Native women have never been elected as governor. Nineteen states have never had a woman governor.
Despite these bleak statistics, RepresentWomen analyzed the upcoming gubernatorial elections and it looks like 2022 could be the year of the woman governor.
Why have we had so few women governors, and why does it matter?
The U.S. electoral system is designed to keep women from holding office. Women have to work much harder than men at convincing donors and the electorate that they are well-equipped for the intricacies of public office. Political action committees and donors also fund women less. Women simply work harder to win, yet do not win as often as men.
Women govern differently than men. Women in public office tend to encourage bipartisanship and be more collaborative. In addition, women having a seat at the table works to promote the idea of their standing in public office and begins a domino effect of more female representation within leadership positions.
Having women address issues that directly affect women is imperative for the future of our democracy. Electing more women into office can bring back a sense of humanity to politics. This is what Americans truly need.
Not only do we celebrate having more women serve in state-level elected office, but we know gender balance in appointed positions is a key ingredient to building women’s political power. RepresentWomen is proud to have released “ Gender Balanced Cabinets: Where We Stand & Why It Matters ” in anticipation of the gubernatorial elections this November. We found that women are not equally present in most state cabinets, but that women governors are more likely to appoint gender balanced cabinets. We call on all 2022 gubernatorial candidates to signal to their communities that they value women’s voices and perspectives by committing to appointing a diverse and gender balanced cabinet.
2022: Year of the Woman Governor
This November the United States will hold gubernatorial elections in 36 states and three territories. Current predictions show some interesting and forward-looking results.
Strong shots:
- All nine of the states with a woman governor are in cycle this year. Seven of the incumbents are likely to win reelection: Republican Kay Ivey of Alabama, Republican Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Democrat Kathy Hochul of New York and Republican Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Democrat Janet Mills of Maine, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.
- Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, has fulfilled her term limit and will be replaced by another woman. Democrat Tina Kotek, unaffiliated Betsy Johnson, and Republican Chrstine Drazan are all running, marking the first time in Oregon’s history that the top three candidates for governor are women.
- Either Democrat Katie Hobbs or Republican Kari Lake will win in Arizona.
- Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a large lead in Arkansas, just as Democrat Maura Healey does in Massachusetts.
If all those odds hold up, we have 11 women governors. But that’s not all.
Good odds:
- Democrat Laura Kelly has a very good chance of winning reelection in Kansas.
- All eyes are on Georgia, where Democrat Stacey Abrams is making another run.
If either of them win, we should have a new record.
Some long shots – but you never know:
- Colorado has never had a female governor, so history will be made if Republican nominee Heidi Ganahl gains the seat this election.
- In Ohio and Vermont, we have two Democratic nominees running against heavily favored Republican incumbents.
More 2022 women candidates.
Be a part of the solution
The 2022 gubernatorial elections could send a message to the nation that women are leaders in U.S. politics who use their power responsibly and for the betterment of the nation. So, it is imperative that you vote and join us in demanding that your gubernatorial candidates appoint diverse, gender-balanced cabinets.
Check to see if your state is holding a gubernatorial election and make sure you are registered to vote. Use our Appointments Equip Toolkit to access tools that help you be a part of the solution in building women’s political power.
As a Texan, I am looking forward to voting and demanding a gender-balanced cabinet this November! See you all at the polls.
A golden tray sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Trump is signing multiple executive orders targeting the nuclear energy sector and easing rules for new reactors and nuclear fuel supply chains.
Trump’s hubris rivals the fallen heroes of ancient Greek mythology
In January, the New York Times asked President Donald Trump if there were any limits on his global powers.
“Yeah,” the president responded, “there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
That was eight months ago, but fortunately Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of “The Odyssey” has made ancient Greek literature newly relevant. Before that window closes, I’d like to talk about hubris.
Today, the term mostly means excessive pride or arrogance. That’s part of what the Greeks meant by it too, but the meaning was a bit richer and more specific. Hubris was an insolent or outrageous act that offended the gods, often because the transgressor was claiming abilities or authorities that solely belonged to supreme beings.
Nolan renamed and slightly modified the concept of xenia for the film, calling it “Zeus’ law.” In the director’s telling, mortals should follow the rules laid out by the gods, specifically the requirement to treat strangers with respect lest they be gods in disguise.
In a sense, hubris is the opposite, or at least the rejection, of xenia. The hubris of the suitors, and at times Odysseus himself, invites punishment by the gods and their mortal instruments.
Which brings me back to Donald Trump. His claim that there are no constraints on his personal power to dictate events on the global stage was one of the greatest expressions of hubris ever uttered by a political leader.
Trump’s claim was obviously false when he made it.
He vowed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. He’s proved powerless to make that happen. If he had divine powers to work his will, why would he have balked at implementing his tariffs so often that Wall Street adopted the “TACO trade” term for his deals? “TACO” stands for “Trump always chickens out.”
And why would Trump have made so many embarrassing concessions to China — from rescinding tariffs on Chinese goods to allowing them to buy crucial and incredibly valuable computer chips?
But Trump saw his success at capturing Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro as proof of his ability to launch missiles to the same effect as Zeus’ lightning bolts. Trump believed he was the most powerful man who ever lived.
This is no exaggeration. In March, when the Iran invasion seemed successful, Trump gave a document penned by“Presidential Historian David King” to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan purporting to prove that Trump was “the most powerful person to have EVER walked this planet.” King was, in fact, a businessman and occasional caddy for legendary golfer Gary Player.
King compared Trump favorably to many of history’s most powerful, and often heinous, figures: Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, William the Conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Tse Tung, Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. Many of these men thought they were the most powerful person in the world, too. And many were defeated precisely because they believed it.
At least Napoleon and Hitler had a string of truly impressive victories before they learned the folly of hubris. The limits on Trump’s power have been exposed by far less august forces than the combined might of the allies in World War II or the fearsome Russian winter.
Iran is a comparatively middling power. But the regime’s ability to absorb punishment while imposing its will on the Strait of Hormuz has proved to be a greater constraint on Trump’s power than his morality or mind. We should note that, at least rhetorically, his morality has not proved much of a constraint. He has repeatedly promised to destroy Iranian “civilization” if the regime refuses to capitulate.
But they haven’t — and won’t anytime soon — because the regime’s tolerance for pain far outstrips Trump’s. The combined fear of skyrocketing oil prices, outrage of Gulf state potentates, diminishing weapon supplies and domestic unpopularity is doing the work that international law, congressional oversight and the collective opinion of foreign policy experts can’t or won’t do.
If I considered Trump more heroic than reason and facts could allow, I would say his Sisyphean predicament has the whiff of Greek tragedy to it. Trump is vexed by the fact that the Iranians won’t honor deals or ratify his countless premature claims of victory — giving new meaning to his vow that his presidency would make people tired of winning. It’s almost like they’re out-Trumping Trump.
Things might have gone better if he’d heeded that great Greek tragedian Sophocles: “For Zeus utterly abhors the boasts of a proud tongue.”
____
Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.