The Nation: Toehold in Connecticut

In two centuries of American politics, there have been only three women Governors, and all three—Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming, Miriam ("Ma") Ferguson of Texas and Lurleen Wallace of Alabama—followed in their husbands' footsteps. Congresswoman Ella Grasso, 55, of Windsor Locks, Conn., is not accustomed to following in anyone's footsteps; her husband of 32 years is a retired school principal, and the toehold she won in the statehouse in Hartford was strictly her own achievement.

Last week the 1,207 delegates at the Democratic state convention in Hartford nominated Grasso as the party's candidate...