While still serving as attorney general , she spoke at the 2000 Democratic National Convention just three weeks after having a mastectomy . Napolitano recalls that the pain was so unbearable that she could not stand up . " Work and family helped me focus on other things while I battled the cancer , " says Napolitano . " I am very grateful for all the support I had from family , friends and Arizonans . " In 2002 , Napolitano narrowly won the gubernatorial election with 46 percent of the vote , succeeding Republican Jane Dee Hull and defeating her Republican opponent , former congressman Matt Salmon , who received 45 percent of the vote . She was Arizona 's third female governor and the first woman in the United States to be elected governor to succeed another elected female governor . She was also the first Democrat popularly elected to the governorship since Bruce Babbitt left office in 1987 , and the first female governor of Arizona to be elected outright
2000 Democratic National Convention
2000 Democratic National Convention
Janet Napolitano