Kamala Harris says he’s not running for California governor
Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced he would not run for California governor, but did not rule out another bid for the presidency.
WASHINGTON – The number of Black women elected to Congress has been stable in recent years, but this year’s record number of black women have served in the state legislature.
A new report entitled Black Women in American Politics 2025 at American Politics 2025, presented to USA Today shortly before its July 31 release, traced the number of Black women serving statewide offices, state legislatures and legislatures over the past decade. The report found at one point in 2025 that 402 black women had been in the state legislature for 240 years.
“It’s steadily progressing,’ Chelsea Hill, author of the report, mentioned the 2024 election.
Since 2014, the number of black women in the state legislature has risen by 67%, according to a report by the high heights that work to expand the political power of black women.
The state legislature has long served as a path to legislative assembly. Over a decade since the first report, there has been an acceleration of black women “moving along the pipeline,” said Heights Kerr, chairman of Hightights.
Last year also marked the first of a black woman to have a historic bid for President Kamala Harris. Harris, who became the first woman to African-American and Asian American, ran for president, and announced on July 30 that she would not run for governor in California. She did not say whether she ruled out the president’s bid in 2028.
Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela of Maryland made history when Angela of Maryland, both Democrats, was also elected as the first two black women to serve in the US Senate at the same time.
When the report was first published in 2014, there were no black women in the Senate, Kerr said.
“It reminds me of why we work and how it reminds me of the program and the impact of the work,” she said.
“When black women run, they win.”
Over the years, Black women have had more opportunities to run at the state level, Kerr and Hill said. They pointed out more programs to recruit and train female candidates.
“When black women run, they win,” said Hill, data director for the Center for American Women. At the council level, black women have a higher win rate than their counterparts.”
In the 2024 general election, 63% of candidates in the Black Women’s Congress won the contest, with the report showing that all female candidates outperforming their victory by 49% and male candidates outperforming race/ethnicity by 53%.
Many women who serve on the legislature are former state legislators. The number of black women in Congress has almost doubled from 17 to 31, including representatives who do not vote since 2014, the report found.
Kamala effect
Hill called Harris’ presidency the “galvanized power” of all women, including black women.
Carr said Harris’ presidential bid “shows the strength of the Black women’s leadership pipeline.”
“This is a woman who ran and won at all levels of government,” Kerr said Harris had served in California and California for over a decade.
Kerr said Harris’ calculated decision not to run for the governor will continue to encourage women and black women to take office.
“More importantly, we created a blueprint around ‘how we serve at the local level, serve the higher office and continue running,” Kerr said.
Meanwhile, the report found other benefits. The eight black women are mayors of the 100 most populous cities, including Karen Bass in Los Angeles, Muriel Bowser in Washington, and Latoya Cantrell in New Orleans.
Challenges remain for black female candidates
Despite the benefits, female candidates often face hurdles including fundraising, experts said. Some black female candidates complain that party organizations are slow to support their bids.
Though these barriers are less, Kerr said there is an increase in misinformation about candidates and that black women are targets of political threats.
Most black women elected to Congress were Democrats.
GOP candidates also need to address the tensions among Republicans who are often opposed to diversity, equity and inclusion, including women. There was only a Republican black woman, the late Mia of Utah elected to Congress, and one black woman.
“I certainly hope that I won’t be the last one. I really do,” Love told USA Today in 2022.
There were also a record number of black women in the state legislature, but there are five states in the state legislature that do not have black women, Hill said. Includes Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
There is no black female governor
One place where there was no victory for black women was the governor. Over the past decade, several black women have run for governor, including Stacey Abrams of Georgia, but have not won.
They are trying more, including Republican Lieutenant Colonel Winsam Earl Sears, who is running for governor of Virginia this year. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has announced plans to run for governor of Georgia in 2026.
Hill said the landscape is different from 2024. In 2026, there will be 36 open seats.
“Hopefully we can all retire from the fact that ”I’ve never had a black female governor”,” Hill said.
Meanwhile, Kerr and Hill said there may be more opportunities for black women to run next year. In 2024 there were 73 statewide races. Next year there will be 200.
Hill said he hopes black women are recruiting, supporting and running some of these positions.
It is also being promoted to ensure that many black women run in areas with diverse groups, not just in diverse black neighborhoods, Carr said.
“In 2026, we’re guaranteed we don’t lose the ground, and that (it) is that there’s the infrastructure for black women to run for reelection, black women to run for a higher office, and there’s more black women to run,” she said.
