Women Move Up

Shannon O'Brien had advantages going into the campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Massachusetts. As the state treasurer, she'd won a statewide race. She was endorsed by the Democratic state convention, well funded and backed by party elders who were not enthused by the reform-minded candidacy of former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the clean-money campaign of former State Senator Warren Tolman or the old-school, labor-backed effort of State Senate president Tom Birmingham.

Despite a late start and a severe shortage of campaign cash, however, Reich's volunteer-driven campaign pulled even with O'Brien in one late poll. Birmingham's labor backers pumped up a big get-out-the-vote drive. And Tolman--the only candidate to abide by the state's new public-financing rules--proved the power of clean money by using a late infusion of cash from the state to become a serious contender. With Republican commercials battering O'Brien--a centrist many analysts saw as the strongest foe for GOP millionaire Mitt Romney--it looked as if the front-runner might stumble. But O'Brien countered critics with television ads that shouted, "Whoa, boys!" It was a subtle reminder that if nominated, she could be the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts. With a clear advantage among women voters, O'Brien beat second-place finisher Reich by roughly 55,000 votes.

O'Brien's victory was the latest in a historic string of primary wins that have made 2002 a breakthrough year for women seeking executive posts. If 1992 was "the year of the woman" in Congressional contests, then 2002 is the year of woman gubernatorial candidates. While no more than three women have ever been elected governor in a single year, women are contenders in at least nine of this year's thirty-six gubernatorial contests. Women have never held more than five governorships at once but could occupy twice that many executive offices after November.

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