Democrats look to expand on their record number of female governors next year

When Meghan Meehan-Draper first started working at the Democratic Governors Association, “there were more governors named John than there were women governors,” she told reporters last week.

Now, with Govs.-elect Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia poised to take office, there will be 10 female Democratic governors serving next year, along with four Republicans for a total of 14.

“We now have the highest number of Democratic women governors in the history of the United States,” Meehan-Draper, the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, told NBC News, adding: “That’s almost half the caucus, at this point, of Democratic governors.”

Following last week’s elections, Democratic strategists are already turning toward next year’s gubernatorial el