Elected and Jewish governors and mayors
Chutzpah and challah in the chambers
I haven't cross-referenced this, but I believe that having five Jewish governors out of fifty states may represent the highest number of Jewish state governors in U.S. history.
State governors
There are 5 Jewish governors. Another governor is married to a Jew.
Josh Shapiro (D-Pennsylvania)
Josh Stein (D-North Carolina)
Jay Pritzker (D-Illinois)
Josh Green (D-Hawaii)
Jared Polis (D-Colorado)
Phil Murphy1 (D-New Jersey)
Mayors
Many of America’s largest cities are led by Jewish mayors.
Daniella Levine Cava (Miami Dade County)2
Daniel Lurie (San Francisco)
Darrell Steinberg (Sacramento)
Libby Schaaf (Oakland)
Kate Gallego (Phoenix)
Ron Nirenberg (San Antonio)
Shelley Berkley (Las Vegas)
Freddie O'Connell (Nashville)
Craig Greenberg (Louisville)
Larry Agran (Irvine)
While researching this list, I found some interesting facts worth sharing. The mayors of Northern California — Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco — were all Jewish. That region has a relatively higher concentration of Jewish residents, who make up 4% of the population.
In addition, America's largest cities—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—recently had Jewish mayors. Bloomberg in New York (2002-2013), Garcetti in Los Angeles (2013-2022), and Emanuel in Chicago (2011-2019).
On a fun side note, Las Vegas has had Jewish mayors since 1999.
This article is part of a series on Jewish leaders in America. Executive branch, Congress, state and local government, university presidents, NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, and WNBA.
Phil Murphy is not Jewish. His wife Tammy Murphy is Jewish.
Miami-Dade County is much larger than the city of Miami, which is just one of its many cities.