(WOMENSENEWS)–Maggie Hassan’s quest for the governorship of New Hampshire puts her under the magnifying lens for those tracking women in politics.

She is the only woman running for governor this year and if she loses there won’t be a single female Democratic governor left in the entire country.

Democratic governors Christine Gregoire of Washington and Bev Purdue of North Carolina are both retiring. Two others, Kathleen Sebelius and Janet Napolitano, were plucked from their posts in 2008 to serve as secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, respectively, under President Barack Obama.

It’s a numbers problem, said Jess McIntosh, spokesperson for the Washington-based EMILY’s List, a political action committee that supports pro-choice female candidates.

It’s a low tide year for governor races, with only 13 statehouses under contention. Only six of those races are open-seat contests with no incumbent; the contests that often give female candidates their entry point.

“It is disappointing that there’s only one woman and she’s a Democrat,” said Suzanne Terrell, co-chair of ShePAC, a group dedicated to electing Republican women. “We still have more Republican women governors.”

Four GOP women are state governors and all–Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Mary Fallin in Oklahoma, Susana Martinez in New Mexico and Jan Brewer in Arizona — were first elected in 2010. (As Arizona’s secretary of state, Brewer became governor in 2009 after Napolitano resigned, but was herself elected in 2010.)

If Hassan loses, these four will be the only female governors left, meaning just eight percent of governors will be women.