Top Female Leaders of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia Make History

By: Miriam Edelman

            For the first time in history, four of the top five executive branch leaders of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) are women. The November 2025 elections increased the number of women in these top three roles from three to four. Since Virginia inaugurated its Governor and Lieutenant Governor on January 17, 2026, D.C.’s Mayor, Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, Virginia’s Governor, and Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor are women. All but Virginia’s Governor are the second women in their major positions. Two of the four (the Lieutenant Governors of both Maryland Virginia) immigrated to the United States from India during their childhoods. This piece follows up on DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “DCNOW Congratulates Women Who Made History in Recent Elections.”

The top five executive branch leaders are D.C.’s Mayor, Maryland’s Governor, Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, Virginia’s Governor, and Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor. Only Maryland’s Governor is a male. Now is the first instance in history that none of the current top leaders is a Caucasian male.

D.C. has led the way in terms of females in top executive leadership positions. Until Virginia’s recent inauguration, D.C. was the only jurisdiction of the DMV to have had a female as its top executive branch official. As such, now is the first time that women lead two of the three jurisdictions in the DMV.

D.C. had a female in top leadership earlier than both Maryland and Virginia. Sharon Pratty Kelly became D.C.’s Mayor on January 2, 1991; Kathleen Kennedy Townsend became Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor on January 18, 1995; and Winsome Earle-Sears became Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor on January 15, 2022.

Before Virginia’s recent inauguration, the number of years of women in D.C.’s top role (15 years) is approximately the same as the number of years of women in Maryland’s (11 years) and Virginia’s (four years) top two roles combined. The following chart gives more detail:

As the above chart shows, the last time that there was not a female in any of the top positions was very early 2015. In addition, the first time that there was more than one woman in the top five positions at the same time was 2022, four short years ago. The table and the following graph show how despite having just one top leader, D.C. has led the DMV in terms of female leaders.

This piece briefly discusses the four women, all of whom have made history at least once. The following three women, who served in top roles in the DMV in the past, also made history:

-          Sharon Pratt Kelly (D-DC), a D.C. native, was the first African-American female mayor of a major urban city and was D.C.’s first female Mayor.

-          Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D-MD), a Connecticut native, of the Kennedy political family was the first female in the role.

-          Winsome Earle-Sears (R-VA), a Jamaica native, was the first female and the first female of color in her position. She was also the first African-American woman to hold statewide office in Virginia.

D.C. Mayor

Muriel Bowser (D-MD) is “first African American woman to ever be elected to three, four-year terms as mayor of” a city in the United States. She is also the first female to be re-elected D.C. Mayor. The D.C. native has served in public office since 2004. After serving as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and then a D.C. Councilmember, she became Mayor in 2015.

Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor

Aruna Miller (D-MD) is “the first woman of color and immigrant elected” to statewide office in Maryland. The native of India immigrated to the United States at age seven. She was a civil and transportation engineer, and she was a Maryland State Delegate between 2011 and 2019. Since 2023, she has been Maryland’s second female Lieutenant Governor. She was inducted into Maryland’s Women Hall of Fame.

Virginia

When Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi (D-VA) were inaugurated recently, Virginia became just the fourth state in U.S. history to have a female Governor and a female Lieutenant Governor at the same time. The four sets of concurrent-serving female Governor and female Lieutenant Governor (Arkansas, Massachusetts, Iowa, Virginia) serve now. Virginia’s set is the first to include a non-Caucasian woman. Until 2023, a state never had a concurrent female Governor and female Lieutenant Governor. In 2023, Arkansas and Massachusetts made history when they became the first two states to have a female Governor and a female Lieutenant-Governor at the same time. In 2024, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R-IA) chose Chris Cournoyer as her Lieutenant Governor to replace Adam Gregg, who left to head the Iowa Bankers Association.

Virginia’s new Governor and Lieutenant Governor make Virginia the state with the highest number of females in top leadership roles in the DMV. This record was made although Virginia’s first female in one of the state’s top positions took office decades after women took top leadership roles in D.C. and Maryland and although women have been in such positions for only four years, compared to 15 years in D.C. and 11 years in Maryland..

Virginia’s Governor

Spanberger is Virginia’s first female Governor. The New Jersey native was a teacher and a case officer in the Central Intelligence Agency before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 through 2025.

Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor

When Hashmi was sworn into office as Virginia’s second female Lieutenant Governor, she became the first Muslim female sworn into a statewide position in the U.S. In 2019, she was elected to office for the first time when she won her bid for the Virginia State Senate. She was  the first Muslim and the first South Asian-American state Senator in Virginia. The India native immigrated to the United States at age four. For almost thirty years, she was a literature professor. She also was the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

Other Women in Major Offices in DMV

Women serve in other major roles in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. D.C.’s sole representative (non-voting) to the U.S. Congress is Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC). Six of the D.C. Councilmembers, including three D.C. at-large Councilmembers, are female. One of the at-large female D.C. Councilmembers is now D.C. Council Chairperson Pro Tempore. Since D.C. attained limited Home Rule in the 1970s. D.C. has always had at least two female D.C. Councilmembers.

Women also represent Maryland in both Congressional chambers and serve in and help lead both state legislative chambers. One of Maryland’s U.S. Senators is Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), and two of Maryland’s U.S. Representatives are women. Brooke Lierman (D-MD) is Maryland’s first female Comptroller. Maryland ranks eighth in the U.S. for female state legislators. While 63 of 141 Delegates are women, 13 of 47 Senators are women. The Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Senate Majority Whip are women.

Women also represent Virginia in Congress and serve in and help lead both state legislative chambers. Two of Virginia’s U.S. Representatives are female. A record number of women serves in Virginia’s General Assembly. Virginia’s state legislature is 40 percent women, which is higher than the percentage of women in Congress. While 42 of the 100 Delegates are women, 14 of the 40 Senators are women. Virginia’s House Majority Leader, House Majority Whip, Senate President pro tempore, and a Senate Caucus Whip are female.

Final Thoughts

Will Maryland elect its first female Governor? Will D.C.’s Mayor, Maryland’s Governor, Maryland’s Lieutenant Governor, Virginia’s Governor, and Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor be women at the same time? Only time will tell.