Congratulations to Bev Perdue, North Carolina’s first woman governor!

Charlotte Observer account of her victory here.   Excerpts below:

Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue rode a national tide of Democratic support Tuesday to become the first female governor of North Carolina.

Perdue, who has held office in Raleigh for nearly a quarter century, was propelled into the governor’s office despite a sweeping drive across the state and the nation for new faces and change. …

… Perdue’s victory makes her the 30th woman to serve as a governor in the United States. She rarely spoke about the possible precedent but won in a state that didn’t officially pass the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote until 1970. In the 19th century, the first bill allowing women to vote was sent to the state legislative committee on insane asylums.

–Ann Bartow