![]() ![]() At one point, when Healey has to leave early to catch a plane, she points at Hobbs and her plate covered in salad and exclaims: “Look at who’s healthy though. Whenever possible, the governors make time for a meal or a quick walk-and-talk-they also have a group text chat for when they’re long distance-and at this lunch, their rapport is easy and light. ![]() Since 2018, the DGA has invested more than $80 million electing this class of female Democratic governors, and DGA events are a space for the women to hang out and be together. Maura Healey, who are all in town for a Democratic Governors Association policy conference. At the table, she’s joined by Whitmer, Arizona Gov. When asked how their friendship first started, Kelly deadpans that it grew “out of true desperation.” “You walk into a pretty much all-male group, and the first thing you’re going to do is gravitate toward one of your own,” she says, picking between plates of sandwiches and tater tots at Bobcat Bonnie’s, a LGBTQ-owned gastropub in downtown Ypsilanti. But as the few to hold these unique positions, they insist that the bond they share with one another isn’t a bonus-it’s another critical part of the job.įrom left to right, Laura Kelly, Janet Mills, Kathy Hochul, Tina Kotek, Mika Brzezinski, Gretchen Whitmer, and Michelle Lujan Grisham on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Most days, the Democratic governors are spread out, commanding their states, working with legislatures, and fighting back against those who are still loath to see a woman in charge. Across the country, there are now a record-breaking 12 female governors total Republicans Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kay Ivey, Kristi Noem, and Kimberly Reynolds round out the group. After the 2022 midterms, Brown left office, because she was term-limited, but three more women joined the ranks, bringing the group to a historic eight. At the time of Lujan Grisham’s wedding, there were only six female Democratic governors nationwide, including New York Gov. In the United States, it’s still rare to find a female governor, and for the handful that win their state’s highest office, banding together can be essential. ![]() “They made the time and supported me in a really important, personal moment,” Lujan Grisham says. It was far too hot for that, so she cut the sleeves off in the Vice President’s house. When the wedding weekend came, the governors were elbows deep in work in the chaos, one of her bridesmaids could only find a long-sleeved shirt. But quickly, that joke turned into reality, and it became clear they’d been the perfect choice all along. On the phone a few weeks after the lunch, Lujan Grisham maintains that the whole governors-as-bridesmaids thing started as a joke, a suggestion she threw out during a group dinner one night. “We were like, no.” In the end, with the bride’s approval, they chose a uniform of champagne-colored shirts and black suits. “We were all on the ballot too,” Whitmer adds. “We just decided we needed to maintain our dignity,” Kelly jokes, the two falling into laughter. “Michelle had an outfit picked out, and Laura and I conspired and vetoed it,” Whitmer says during a group governors’ lunch in Ypsilanti, Michigan this past May. The bridesmaids came equipped with the staples-bouquets and personalized toasts-though instead of standard, candy-colored dresses, the governors plotted to wear something a little more distinguished. Newscom/Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via ZUMA Press Wire Lujan Grisham hugging her then-fiancé, Manny Cordova, after her inaugural address in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Jan. ![]()
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