Politico on DGA’s Meghan Meehan-Draper: “The woman behind the rise in Democratic governors”

Politico on DGA's Meghan Meehan-Draper: "The woman behind the rise in Democratic governors"

A new profile as a part of Politico's Women Rule series highlights how "Democratic governors have been at the forefront of the party's pushback against the Trump administration" as a result of the "carefully crafted strategy" of DGA Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper.

The profile details how Meghan's leadership has helped transform the DGA - consistently breaking fundraising records, launching the "Unrig the Map" program to highlight the key role governors play in redistricting, establishing the Women Governors Fund dedicated to growing the ranks of women governors, and securing reelection in 26 out of 27 incumbent Democratic governors races since 2016.

As DGA Vice Chair Governor Andy Beshear put it: "As I've traveled the country, there is no question that Americans now better see the importance and impact of governors, and Meghan has been a big part of that."

Read Meghan's profile here or key points below.

• These efforts by Democratic governors to use their state leadership as a tool to combat the administration are the result of a carefully crafted strategy within the Democratic Governors Association, spearheaded by Executive Director Meghan Meehan-Draper.

• Meehan-Draper, who joined the organization in 2015 as a major donor director, says when she first came to DGA it was difficult to get people to care about governors' races. From that, the "Unrig the Map" campaign was born. The campaign sought to fund races in states where governors have authority over congressional redistricting in hopes of electing Democratic governors to shift congressional maps in states that currently favor Republicans.

• Former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who served as chair of the DGA in 2018, says Meehan-Draper's choice to shift the narrative on governor races was key to the organization's success and a significant increase in donorships.

• "When you talked to donors, their mindset was they had Congress on their frontal lobes and almost nothing else," Inslee tells Women Rule. "And what she has been very successful about is reorienting the Democratic donor team to recognize the centrality and importance of state action in governor races."

• As national finance director, Meehan-Draper helped raise over $170 million to invest in Democratic governor campaigns during the 2021-2022 election cycle, gaining two governor seats in the process. And since 2016, Democratic governors have won 26 out of 27 incumbent races.

• "As I've traveled the country, there is no question that Americans now better see the importance and impact of governors, and Meghan has been a big part of that," Beshear tells Women Rule.

• At the time of the "Unrig the Map" campaign's creation, there were only 15 Democratic governors. Now, that number is up to 23, eight of whom are women. She also established the Women Governors Fund in 2018 - a fund within the DGA dedicated to women gubernatorial candidates - which the organization says helped six Democratic women governors win their races that year.

• Meehan-Draper is now working alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominees Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey in hopes of raising the number of Democratic women governors from eight to 10.

• With the upcoming gubernatorial races this fall and in the 2026 election cycle, Meehan-Draper is confident in the organization's ability to win races and stresses the importance of electing Democratic governors amid redistricting efforts in red states.

• "I think all our Democratic governors are completely united in calling out Republican hypocrisy, calling out essentially Republicans laughing in the face of democracy and fair representation," Meehan-Draper says. "And so while [redistricting] is a state-by-state issue, I think they're certainly united in that."

• The Republican Governors Association did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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