Women’s Leadership on the Ballot

Marlene Johnson was Minnesota’s first woman lieutenant governor, from 1983 to 1991, alongside Governor Rudy Perpich. Now living in Washington, D.C., the 78-year-old reflects on her life in the book Rise to the Challenge: A Memoir of Politics, Leadership, and Love. We talked with her about how times have and have not changed for seeing women as capable leaders, including the tough races Rachel Bowman and Jen Schultz are running against anti-choice incumbents in Minnesota.

“[They] are both running in districts that are heavily Republican. So, it’s not only that they are female candidates; [male Democrats] have been losing those districts for a long time,” Johnson says. It might have been easier a few decades ago for Republicans to recruit and elect women in swing districts, she adds. “But a political shift has occurred; there are more deeply conservative districts, fewer swing districts, and more hardcore conservative partisan districts that make it difficult for candidates like Jen Schultz. She’s an excellent candidate and it is a very challenging district.”

She noted that it is important to keep working to make sure diversity is at the decision-making table. “It’s not so much whether there are four men and six women, or six men and four women. That is less important than all of us acknowledging that we have something unique to bring to the conversation.”

Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan could become Minnesota’s first indigenous and female governor if Tim Walz is elected vice president. At the watch party for the September 10 presidential candidate debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, we asked Flanagan to comment on the struggle for some to see women as leaders. She pointed out that Harris has already served in the executive branch, which gives her credibility. And, Flanagan added, “I’m not spending a lot of time talking about the fact that she’s a woman. I am talking about the fact that she is highly qualified. … Governor Walz is a great partner to women leaders.”

During her book tour, Marlene Johnson will speak at First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis on October 20.