Will women make gains in the U.S. Senate, the House, and in statewide executive offices this Tuesday? And will ballot measures for ranked choice voting pass? While it may take days or even weeks for all the votes to be counted, and for the results of the midterm elections to be certified, these are some of the key contests we are tracking.

Governor

Of the nine current women governors, seven of them are likely to win re-election including:

• Michelle Lujan Grisham - Democrat, New Mexico
• Kathy Hochul - Democrat, New York
• Kay Ivey - Republican, Alabama
• Janet Mills - Democrat, Maine
• Kristi Noem - Republican, South Dakota
• Kim Reynolds - Republican, Iowa
• Gretchen Whitmer - Democrat, Michigan

There are three women running for governor in Oregon to replace Kate Brown: Democrat Tina Kotek, independent Betsy Johnson, and Republican Chrstine Drazan. Polling suggests that the independent candidate may perform well enough to split the vote with the Democratic candidate, leading to a win for the Republican in a state that has had a Democratic governor for the last 35 years. 

Democrat Katie Hobbs is running in a tight race against Trump-backed Kari Lake in Arizona, while Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders has a large lead in Arkansas, just as Democrat Maura Healey does in Massachusetts.

There is a good chance that 11 states will elect a woman governor this year but it’s possible that Democrat Laura Kelly will win in Kansas and Stacey Abrams could win in Georgia. Wins for women are less likely in Colorado, Ohio, and Vermont.

Attorney General

As we know from the Women Saving Democracy salon that we hosted with the Brennan Center for Justice and Ms. magazine this fall, attorneys general play a pivotal role in protecting our democracy. There are 31 state attorneys general races happening this week that could dramatically impact our political landscape, and we are watching:

• Letitia James - New York. Tish James is running for re-election in NY state.
• Dana Nessel - Michigan. Dana Nessel is running for reelection in this battleground election, is the state’s second ever woman attorney general, and the first openly LGBTQ person elected to statewide office in Michigan. 
• Kristin Mayes - Arizona. Kris Mayes, former Republican member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, is running in this battleground election and would be Arizona’s first woman attorney general.
• Rochelle Garza - Texas. If elected, Rochelle will be the first Latina to serve as attorney general in TX.
• Andrea Campbell - Massachusetts. If elected Campbell will be the first African American woman elected to statewide executive office from the state.

Secretary of State

Currently there are 11 women who serve as secretaries of state and there are a number of states where election deniers and pro-voter candidates are in close races. Of the 23 women running for secretary of state in this election, we are especially focused on:

• Maggie Toulouse Oliver - New Mexico, running as an incumbent & a voting rights champion.
• Jena Griswold - Colorado, incumbent and advocate for the National Popular Vote, and her challenger Pam Anderson, whose platform focuses on rebuilding public trust.
• Jocelyn Benson - Michigan, running as an incumbent and is a staunch advocate for ballot access and ballot security.
• Shirley Weber - California, running as an incumbent and is the state’s first woman of color to serve as Secretary of State.
• Shenna Bellows - Maine, running as an incumbent, voting rights champion, and ranked choice voting advocate.
• Julie Anderson - Washington State, running as an independent challenger.
• Rosemounda Butler - South Carolina, running as a challenger. If successful, she will be the first Black woman elected statewide in South Carolina.
• Sarah Copeland Hanzas - Vermont, running for the open seat. If successful, she would be the state’s second ever woman to hold this position.
• Destiny Wells - Indiana, who is prioritizing free and fair elections and increasing voter participation to improve representative outcomes.

Comptroller

Currently there are only four women who serve as comptroller, a position that is sometimes called manager of the state’s checkbook. We are watching the following races:

• Susana Mendoza - Illinois, incumbent and co-founder of the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus, and her challengers Shannon Teresi (Republican) and Deirdre McCloskey (Libertarian).
• Malia Cohen - California, is an ardent backer of ranked choice voting.
• Brooke Lierman - Maryland, is another ardent supporter of ranked choice voting. If successful, she will be the first woman to serve as comptroller in Maryland.  

Senate   

Currently there are 24 women in the United States Senate. We are watching these races:

• Catherine Cortez-Masto - Nevada, is running as the incumbent and is the first woman to represent Nevada in the US Senate.
• Alaska, where incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski is favored to win in the state’s first-ever use of ranked choice voting.
• Madison Horn - Oklahoma. If successful, she will be the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
• Val Demings - Florida. If successful, she will be the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. 
• Cheri Beasley - North Carolina. If successful, she will be the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina. 
• Krystle Matthews - South Carolina. If successful, she will be the first woman and Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina. 

House

Currently there are 123 women in the U.S. House of Representatives - there are more Black women running than ever before according to Higher Heights - which is very encouraging. We are watching a few key races where women who support ranked choice voting and other systems strategies are running including:

• Mary Peltola - Alaska. If successful she will continue to be the first woman and the first native Alaskan to represent Alaska.
• Teresa Leger Fernandez - New Mexico. District 3 incumbent Leger has been a stalwart advocate for ranked choice voting and is a co-sponsor of the Fair Representation Act.
• Melanie Stansbury - New Mexico. Running as the District 1 incumbent and member of the House LGBTQ Equality Caucus and Democratic Women’s Caucus.
• Becca Balint - Vermont. If successful, she will be the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress. Vermont is currently the only state that has never sent a woman to Congress.
• Dianne Black - Mississippi. If successful, she will be the first woman to serve in the U.S. House from Mississippi, as well as the first Black woman to represent the state in Congress.
• Yesli Vega - Virginia. If successful, she will be the first Latina to represent Virginia in Congress.
• Taysha DeVaughan - Virginia. If successful, she will be the first Native American woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
• Lynette GreyBull - Wyoming. If successful, she will be the first Native American woman to serve in the U.S. House from Wyoming.
• Heather Mizeur - Maryland. If elected, she will be the lone woman in the state's Congressional delegation.

Local

We are based in Silver Spring, Maryland, right outside of Washington, D.C. These are the local races we have our eyes on:

• Elissa Silverman - Washington D.C., running as an incumbent for DC Council At-large.
• Jheanelle Wilkins and Lorig Charkoudian - Maryland, running as incumbents to represent the multi-member District 20 in the Maryland House of Delegates.
• Kate Stewart - Montgomery County, Maryland, running for Montgomery County Council in the new District 4.
• Talisha Searcy - Takoma Park, Maryland, running for mayor of Takoma Park.

Ranked Choice Voting

Currently there are two states, 54 cities, and one county that use ranked choice voting systems along with six states that use RCV for military and overseas voters. See FairVote for more details about the use of ranked choice voting and RepresentWomen for more data on its impact on outcomes for women. This election cycle, we’re excited that ranked choice voting is on the ballot in one state, five cities, and three counties. We will be watching all of those races in hopeful anticipation:

• Nevada
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• Portland, ME
• Fort Collins, CO
• Evanston, IL
• Multnomah County, OR
• Clark County, WA
• San Juan County, WA

For an extensive list of potential milestones and firsts for this 2022 election, visit the Center for American Women and Politics.

The state of our democracy is at an inflection point - we must all work together to defend the rule of law and make daily progress toward building that more perfect union.