A Woman Will Be Governor

For the first time in Minnesota history, voters will enter a gubernatorial election knowing that a woman will emerge as the winner. Democratic-Farmer-Labor nominee Amy Klobuchar and Republican nominee Lisa Demuth won their respective primaries on August 11, guaranteeing that Minnesota will elect its first female governor in November. Klobuchar is the first woman nominated for governor by the DFL, while Demuth is the first woman nominated by Minnesota Republicans. Demuth is also the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major party in Minnesota.

That makes the 2026 election more than another contest between two political parties. It closes a conspicuous gap in the history of a state that often presents itself as forward-looking, civically engaged and committed to equal opportunity.

Minnesota became a state in 1858. Since then, every person elected governor has been a man. Women have served Minnesota as legislators, judges, mayors, members of Congress, U.S. senators and lieutenant governors. They have led agencies, businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations and community movements. Yet the governor’s office—the most visible and powerful executive position in state government—has remained beyond their reach.

That will finally change.

The milestone arrives more than a century after Minnesota ratified the 19th Amendment. The state was the 15th to ratify it, acting on September 8, 1919. Before full suffrage, Minnesota women had obtained the limited right to vote in school elections in 1875. Those gains were the result of decades of organizing by women such as Clara Ueland, Sarah Burger Stearns, Julia Bullard Nelson, Ethel Edgerton Hurd and Nellie Griswold Francis.

Even after women gained the vote, political power did not arrive quickly. Voting was one step; gaining access to the institutions where laws and budgets were shaped was another. Women gradually entered the Minnesota Legislature, but executive leadership remained largely male.

Marlene Johnson broke an important barrier in 1982 when she was elected lieutenant governor alongside Rudy Perpich. Serving from 1983 through 1991, Johnson became the first woman to hold that office in Minnesota. Since then, women have become a familiar presence in the lieutenant governor’s role, sometimes creating the misleading impression that Minnesota had already achieved equality in executive leadership. It had not. The lieutenant governor stands beside the governor, but until now a woman has never been elected to lead the state herself.

Minnesota’s delay is especially striking when viewed against the national timeline. Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming became the nation’s first female governor in 1925. She was elected to succeed her late husband and served for two years. Other women followed, although slowly and unevenly. It was not until 1974 that Connecticut’s Ella Grasso became the first woman elected governor without succeeding her husband.

By early 2026, a record 14 women were serving simultaneously as governors—10 Democrats and four Republicans. Nevertheless, only a small fraction of all the people who have governed American states have been women. Seventeen states had never had a female governor as the 2026 election cycle began, including Minnesota, California, Georgia, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The record across the other 49 states reveals how inconsistent progress has been. Some states have elected women from both parties or have had several female governors. Arizona has had more women serve as governor than any other state. New Hampshire made history when it simultaneously had a female governor and an all-female congressional delegation. Other large and politically influential states have never placed a woman in the governor’s office.

Minnesota’s election therefore represents both progress and a reminder of how long that progress took.

The choice between Klobuchar and Demuth is also historically significant because voters are not being asked to choose between “the woman candidate” and a man. Gender does not distinguish one ticket from the other. The candidates must compete on their records, judgment, priorities and visions for Minnesota.

That is healthy for representative government.

Klobuchar brings years of statewide experience and national prominence. She has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007 and previously served as Hennepin County attorney. Demuth offers a different background as a legislative leader and Minnesota House speaker. She presents voters with an alternative political philosophy and would make additional history if elected: no Black woman has ever served as governor of any U.S. state.

The importance of the election should not lead voters to suspend normal scrutiny. Representation matters, but it does not settle questions about affordability, education, health care, taxation, public safety, housing, infrastructure or government accountability. A historic candidate can still be questioned. A barrier-breaking officeholder can still make mistakes. Equality does not mean lowering the standard for women; it means giving them the opportunity to meet the same demanding standard applied to anyone seeking executive power.

Nor should we assume that women govern with one shared philosophy. Klobuchar and Demuth differ on major issues because women are not a political monolith. That is part of the progress represented by this election. Women can lead from the left, right or center. They can disagree vigorously and still demonstrate that political leadership is not naturally or permanently male.

The deeper value of the moment may be felt by younger Minnesotans. After this election, a girl visiting the State Capitol will no longer have to imagine whether a woman can become governor. She will be able to look at the governor’s portrait and know that it has happened.

Symbols alone do not repair roads, balance budgets or improve schools. But symbols influence expectations, and expectations shape who runs, who receives support and who is taken seriously. Once a barrier falls, the extraordinary can gradually become ordinary.

Minnesota’s next governor should ultimately be judged by competence, integrity, effectiveness and service to the entire state. But we should still pause to recognize what November represents. More than 160 years after statehood and more than a century after women secured the vote, Minnesota will finally elect a woman to its highest office.

It is overdue. It is historic. And regardless of which candidate wins, Minnesota will never again have to say that a woman has not served as its governor.