When will Pennsylvania have a female senator or governor?

[Never Made it to Graceland]

Pennsylvania is one of the, if not the largest state as far as I can tell to have never had a woman serve as either US Senator or Governor. The late Catherine Baker Knoll was lieutenant governor under Ed Rendell, and Kathleen Kane was formerly Attorney General, but had to go to jail for a litany of criminal charges. Kathleen McGinty ran in 2016 for Senate against Pat Toomey, but Toomey was able to win reelection very narrowly with solid Democrat Michael Bloomberg's help.

[Lognog]

I'm from PA and I more than understand the hype around Fetterman, Shapiro, Lamb, and Boyle.

But as I've said before, don't ignore Dean, Scanlon, Houlahan, and Wild. Most of them represent some of the most important part of PA to win statewide as a Democrat and they were very strong in 2018. If I were to guess I would say at least one of them runs for senate eventually.

Also, my prediction is that Ahmed has a bright future in PA politics

[The Arizonan]

I'm from PA and I more than understand the hype around Fetterman, Shapiro, Lamb, and Boyle.

But as I've said before, don't ignore Dean, Scanlon, Houlahan, and Wild. Most of them represent some of the most important part of PA to win statewide as a Democrat and they were very strong in 2018. If I were to guess I would say at least one of them runs for senate eventually.

Also, my prediction is that Ahmed has a bright future in PA politics

Yes, Chrissy Houlahan is a rising star within the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.

[Red Wall]

PA got scolded by women holding statewide offices that's why they won't vote for them for governor, senator or president.

[Mexican Wolf]

It can't come soon enough, IMO.

I expect one of the SE PA congresswomen (Houlahan, most likely) to jump into the 2022 Senate primary, although they'll obviously have to contend with Shapiro or Lamb in the primary. Their chances in the general will also get a bit tougher if it's a Biden and not a Trump midterm. McGinty came within 1.5% of unseating Pat Toomey, so if 2022 turns out to be more favorable for Dems than 2016, I can see a female Dem primary winner gaining the seat.

As for the governorship, I'm not sure who would jump into the 2022 primary on either side (maybe Nina Ahmad if she wins this year, but she'd probably want to wait until 2026 to build up a record first).

All of the Republican representatives are male as are the leaders of the state senate and house, so I'm guessing any Republican women who would want to run for governor or senator would come from the legislature or a county-level office.

Anyway, I'll say PA will (hopefully) elect a female governor or senator by 2030.

[Orser67]

With the defeat of McGinty and the disgrace of Kathleen Kane, we don't really have a lot of high-profile women in office, with the obvious exception of those elected in 2018 and 2020. And of those, Ahmad (assuming she's elected), Dean, Scanlon, and Wild are all in their early-to-mid 60s, which isn't necessarily too late to get to a top statewide position but is definitely a little older, especially when there's a fairly strong bench in front of them on the Democratic side.

I do think that all four, plus Houlahan (who's in her early 50s) is worth keeping an eye on, though, especially as SEPA becomes increasingly important in Democratic primaries due to population growth and the likely continued movement of college-educated white voters into the Democratic Party.

[Adam Griffin]

It's basically the Alabama of the North, so...the best bet - in true Alabama/Southron fashion - would be whenever a Governor dies or resigns in office and the Lieutenant Governor is a female, or a Senator resigns/dies and the Governor feels "generous" enough to appoint a female as their replacement (a la Kemp/Loeffler).

[The Arizonan]

Pennsylvania has more conservative character than every other state in the Northeast. It should also be noted that Philadelphia, a patriarchal city, has never had a female mayor.

[TrendsareUsuallyReal]

Nina Ahmad in 2026 defeats an unpopular GOP incumbent like Bartos or someone similarly crazy

[JMT]

Chrissy Houlahan might run for Senate in 2022 and win. But, I do still think Conor Lamb or John Fetterman will win the Senate race in 2022, and Josh Shapiro will win the Governorship.

Chrissy Houlahan would also probably have a great shot at winning the Senate race in 2024 if Bob Casey retires.

[Sol]

Houlahan's district is also basically certain to get more Republican after redistricting, so it's possible that she does the Joe Donnelly thing and runs for higher office on being redistricted out.