State executive official elections, 2025
State executive offices up for election in 2025 include two gubernatorial seats, two lieutenant gubernatorial seats, and one attorney general seat. Including down-ballot races, there are six state executive offices up for election across three states in 2025.[1]
The two gubernatorial races on the ballot in 2025 are in New Jersey and Virginia.
State executives act in many capacities according to the powers granted to them by their state's constitution. They are also charged with implementing and enforcing laws made by state legislatures. There are 748 executive seats spread across 13 distinct types of offices in the United States.[2] Of the 13 executive offices, only seven exist in all 50 states: governor, attorney general, superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner.
Other common offices include lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, controller, auditor, and natural resources commissioner.
State executive offices up for election in 2024 include 11 gubernatorial seats, nine lieutenant gubernatorial seats, 10 attorney general seats, and seven secretary of state seats. Including down-ballot races, there are 164 state executive seats up for election across 29 states in 2024.[3]
In 2022, 307 state executive offices were up for election across 44 states. Twenty offices changed party control, including two previously held Republican lieutenant governorships that changed parties because the governor and lieutenant governor ran on a joint ticket. Of the 18 offices which changed partisan control due to direct election, 10 switched from Democrat to Republican, seven switched from Republican to Democrat, and one nonpartisan official was succeeded by a Republican. A total of 26 incumbents seeking re-election to state executive offices were defeated, with 10 of those losing in the general election and 16 losing in their party's primary or nominating convention.
State executive offices up for election in 2021 included gubernatorial seats, lieutenant gubernatorial seats, and an attorney general seat. Including down-ballot races, there were seven state executive offices up for election across four states in 2021.[4] Additionally, California held a recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on September 14, 2021. As a result of the 2021 elections, Republicans gained the governorship, lieutenant governorship, and attorney's general office in Virginia.
While this page includes links to pages on state executive elections in the U.S. Territories, it does not include the territories in its statistics.
Offices up for election
List of candidates
The table below contains a list of all candidates for a top-ballot office in 2025. The table is fully searchable by candidate, party and candidacy status. Depending on the size of your screen, you'll either see a menu to the left of the table or an arrow at the top right corner, which you can use to select a state.
Governor
There are two gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2025.
Out of all the state executive offices, only the governor is elected in all 50 states. As the chief executive officer, the governor is among the most powerful figures in state government. Other executive offices ordinarily report to him or her.
Lieutenant Governor
There are two lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2025.
In 45 states, the lieutenant governor is the second-highest executive office, behind the governor. Although the powers and duties of the lieutenant governor vary from state to state, lieutenant governors are responsible for filling vacancies in the office of governor. In many states, lieutenant governors often sit on boards or commissions, and they are often involved in the proceedings of the state Senate.
Attorney General
There is one attorney general seat on the ballot in 2025.
As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general is responsible for enforcing state law and advising the state government on legal matters. In many states, attorneys general play a large role in the law enforcement process.
Secretary of State
There are no secretary of state seats on the ballot in 2025.
Down-ballot
There is one down-ballot state executive seat on the ballot in 2025.
Education officials
Trifectas
- See also: State government trifectas
State government trifecta is a term to describe single-party government, when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
As of August 18, 2024, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.
Triplexes
- See also: State government triplexes
A state government triplex is a term used to describe when a state's governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all members of the same party.
As of August 18, 2024, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Historical election data
Ballotpedia covers America's 748 state executive seats across all 50 states. The following sections look at incumbency and partisanship in state executive elections from 2011 to 2023.
Incumbency
From 2011 to 2023, 64.3% of incumbents sought re-election. Of the incumbents who sought re-election during that period, 86.5% were successful. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were re-elected compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.
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The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of offices up for election, the number and percentage of incumbents who sought re-election, and the number and percentage of incumbents who won another term.
State executive incumbents who sought re-election, 2011-2023 | |||||
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Year | Total seats | Incumbents who sought re-election |
% incumbents who sought re-election |
Incumbents who were re-elected |
% incumbents who were re-elected |
Partisanship
The table below details how many state executive seats changed parties from 2011 to 2023. The largest single-year gain by a party was in 2018, when Democrats gained 41 net seats. That year also had the highest number of seats up for election, with 303. The lowest net change was in 2011, when no parties gained or lost any seats. Twenty-six seats were on the ballot that year. The table is organized by year and shows the number of seats held by each party before the election and after the election and the net change each party saw.
Partisan control of governorships
The chart below looks at the number of governorships held by the Democratic and Republican parties between 1977 and 2023. The biggest difference between the number of seats held by Democrats compared to those held by Republicans was in 1977 and 1978, when Democrats held 37 seats and Republicans held 12. The lowest difference between the number of seats held by Democrats compared to those held by Republicans was in 1987, 2003, and 2019. In 1987, Democrats held 26 governorships and Republicans held 24; in both 2003 and 2019, Democrats held 24 governorships and Republicans held 26. Republicans gained one governorship in both the 2020 and 2021 elections. Democrats gained two net governorships in 2022. Republicans gained one net governorship in 2023.
See also
2025 elections: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
- ↑ There are 13 state executive offices as Ballotpedia defines the term, however there are other executive offices that Ballotpedia does not cover in some states.
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
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