Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Updated: Women Governors by Time in Office

Update: Kate Brown has been Governor of Oregon for a little over 6 months so let's update list.  If the rumor mills in Alabama are true, we may see another woman become governor.
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It's International Women's Day.  So let's look at the women in the U.S.  Namely Governors.  The idea for a unique way of looking at the women who have served as governors came from BC Iconoclast in Canada.

First, a look at the 37 women who served as governor by their time in office through today.  Bold are currently serving:

Governor State Time in Office
Ruth Ann Minner Delaware 2940 Days
Christine Gregoire Washington 2927 Days
Linda Lingle Hawaii 2927 Days
Jennifer Granholm Michigan 2923 Days
Christine Todd Whitman New Jersey 2571 Days
M. Jodi Rell Connecticut 2380 Days
Kathleen Sebelius Kansas 2298 Days
Janet Napolitano Arizona 2208 Days
Madeleine Kunin Vermont 2192 Days
Jeanne Shaheen New Hampshire 2192 Days
Ella Grasso Connecticut 2185 Days
Jan Brewer Arizona 2176 Days
Jane Dee Hull Arizona 1950 Days
Susana Martinez New Mexico 1712 Days
Mary Fallin Oklahoma 1703 Days
Nikki Haley South Carolina 1701 Days
Kathleen Blanco Louisiana 1464 Days
Judy Martz Montana 1464 Days
Dixy Lee Ray Washington 1464 Days
Ann Richards Texas 1464 Days
Kay Orr Nebraska 1462 Days
Martha Layne Collins Kentucky 1457 Days
Miriam Ferguson Texas 1457 Days
Joan Finney Kansas 1457 Days
Barbara Roberts Oregon 1457 Days
Beverly Perdue North Carolina 1457 Days
Rose Mofford Arizona 1123 Days
Maggie Hassan New Hampshire 979 Days
Sarah Palin Alaska 966 Days
Nellie Tayloe Ross Wyoming 729 Days
Jane Swift Massachusetts 633 Days
Lurleen Wallace Alabama 478 Days
Olene Smith Walker Utah 426 Days
Gina Raimondo Rhode Island 246 Days
Kate Brown Oregon 203 Days
Nancy Hollister Ohio 12 Days
Vesta Roy New Hampshire 8 Days

Looking at just how many days someone served doesn't tell the whole story.  Ruth Ann Minner may have been the longest serving governor, but how does serving as governor of Delaware compare with serving as governor of Michigan or Texas?

Another way we can look at this list is by their population when they took office multiplied by their days in office through today.  Those in bold are currently serving.

Governor State Total Governing Pop. Time in Office
Jennifer Granholm Michigan 29,463,796,155 2923 Days
Ann Richards Texas 24,868,250,640 1464 Days
Christine Todd Whitman New Jersey 20,359,224,516 2571 Days
Christine Gregoire Washington 18,404,270,593 2927 Days
Jan Brewer Arizona 14,352,412,928 2176 Days
Beverly Perdue North Carolina 13,667,947,988 1457 Days
Janet Napolitano Arizona 12,322,430,688 2208 Days
Jane Dee Hull Arizona 8,876,803,650 1950 Days
M. Jodi Rell Connecticut 8,338,577,520 2380 Days
Miriam Ferguson Texas 8,265,902,000 1457 Days
Nikki Haley South Carolina 7,867,778,184 1701 Days
Ella Grasso Connecticut 6,735,262,500 2185 Days
Kathleen Blanco Louisana 6,611,087,280 1464 Days
Mary Fallin Oklahoma 3855753 1703 Days
Kathleen Sebelius Kansas 6,258,619,086 2298 Days
Dixy Lee Ray Washington 5,528,137,200 1464 Days
Martha Layne Collins Kentucky 5,382,863,188 1457 Days
Barbara Roberts Oregon 4,141,261,697 1457 Days
Rose Mofford Arizona 3,970,010,509 1123 Days
Jane Swift Massachusetts 3,808,397,025 633 Days
Linda Lingle Hawaii 3,643,816,446 2927 Days
Joan Finney Kansas 3,609,825,318 1457 Days
Susana Martinez New Mexico 3,525,314,448 1712 Days
Jeanne Shaheen New Hampshire 2,571,739,888 2192 Days
Ruth Ann Minner Delaware 2,303,784,000 2940 Days
Kay Orr Nebraska 2,290,291,714 1462 Days
Lurleen Wallace Alabama 1,652,924,000 478 Days
Judy Martz Montana 1,320,813,480 1464 Days
Maggie Hassan New Hampshire 1,290,511,926 979 Days
Madeleine Kunin Vermont 1,161,836,720 2192 Days
Olene Smith Walker Utah 1,001,724,942 426 Days
Kate Brown Oregon 805,958,517 203 Days
Sarah Palin Alaska 647,271,198 966 Days
Gina Raimondo Rhode Island 259,572,558 246 Days
Nellie Tayloe Ross Wyoming 157,464,000 729 Days
Nancy Hollister Ohio 134,853,024 12 Days
Vesta Roy New Hampshire 7,581,752 8 Days

Some interesting things when broken down by population and time in office.  Ann Richards is #14 for time in office, but #2 when you factor in population.  Ruth Ann Minner is the longest serving but drops to #24 with the population factor.  Maggie Hassan has been governor for about 3 months, but look how far she has to go to overtake Nancy Hollister.

The population factor at the very least shows us that not all states are created equal.  Let's remember there are essentially 50 different economies.  Larger states are likely to have larger economies.

Just as an FYI, if Ann Richards had won re-election she would have easily taken the top spot when population is factored in, blowing past Jennifer Granholm with a population of 49,719,514,770.