Gubernatorial elections, 2025
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There are two gubernatorial offices on the ballot in 2025. These elections are in New Jersey and Virginia. The incumbents in both races—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey and Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—are term-limited.
In 2021, when the most recent gubernatorial elections were held for these two offices, the only governorship that changed party control was Virginia's. Youngkin was elected to succeed incumbent Ralph Northam (D), who was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Governors of Virginia may not run for consecutive terms, although they may run for another term after spending a term out of office. Youngkin became the first Republican to win a statewide election in Virginia since 2009.
Murphy won re-election to a second term in 2021. Heading into the 2021 election, the last Democratic governor to win re-election in New Jersey was Brendan Byrne in 1977.
Three states held elections for governor in 2023. Heading into the election, two states (Kentucky and Louisiana) had Democratic governors, while one state (Mississippi) had a Republican governor. Louisiana's governorship changed partisan hands, resulting in two Republican governors and one Democratic governor across the three states due to the elections. To read more about those elections, click here.
Seats up for election
There is one Democratic and one Republican seat up for election in 2025. These statistics do not include elections in the U.S. territories. The table and map below shows which states are holding gubernatorial elections in 2025.
| 2025 Gubernatorial Races | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Current Incumbent | Term-limited (Y/N) | ||
| New Jersey |  Phil Murphy |
Yes | ||
| Virginia |  Glenn Youngkin |
Yes | ||
Partisan balance
The following chart displays the number of governors' offices held by each party before and after the 2025 elections.
| U.S. governors partisan breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of July 2023 | After the 2025 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 24 | TBD | |
| Republican Party | 26 | TBD | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
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 January 4, 2024, there are 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 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 January 4, 2024, there are 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 6 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Historical control
Republicans led in governorships from 1994 until 2006, after which there were 28 Democratic governors to the Republicans' 22. Republicans regained their national majority in the 2010 midterm elections. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of Republican governors continued to increase, reaching a high point of 33 following West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's switch to the Republican Party in August 2017.[1] From 2017 to 2019, Democrats won Republican-held governorships in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. Republicans, meanwhile, gained a governorship in Alaska previously held by independent Bill Walker. In 2020 and 2021, Republicans won Democratic-held governorships in Montana and Virginia. Four gubernatorial offices changed partisan control in 2022, with Democrats winning three previously Republican-held seats in Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts, and Republicans defeating the Democratic incumbent in Nevada. These changes brought Republicans to 26 governorships and Democrats to 24.
2022 gubernatorial elections
There were 20 Republican and 16 Democratic gubernatorial seats up for election in 2022. These statistics do not include elections in the U.S. territories. The table and map below show which states held gubernatorial elections in 2022.
Gubernatorial offices that changed party control in 2022
Four governors' offices changed partisan control as a result of the 2022 elections.
- From Republican to Democratic
- In Arizona, where Katie Hobbs (D) defeated Kari Lake (R) to succeed incumbent Doug Ducey (R),
- In Maryland, where Wes Moore (D) defeated Dan Cox (R) to succeed incumbent Larry Hogan (R)
- In Massachusetts, where Maura Healey (D) defeated Geoff Diehl (R) to succeed incumbent Charlie Baker (R).
- From Democratic to Republican
- In Nevada, where Joe Lombardo (R) defeated incumbent Steve Sisolak (D). Sisolak was the only incumbent defeated in 2022.
Twenty-seven gubernatorial incumbents were re-elected in 2022—twelve Democrats and fifteen Republicans.
About the office
- See also: Governor (state executive office)
In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state. The governor is not directly subordinate to the federal authorities but is the political and ceremonial head of the state. The governor may also assume additional roles, such as the commander-in-chief of the National Guard when the role is not federalized. The governor may also have the ability to commute or pardon a criminal sentence.
In all states, the governor is directly elected and, in most cases, has considerable practical powers. Notable exceptions with weak governorships include the office of the governor in Texas, though this may be moderated by the state legislature and, in some cases, by other elected executive officials. Governors can veto state bills. The specific duties and powers vary widely between states.
Compensation
According to compensation figures for 2022 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a governor was $250,000 in New York while the lowest is $70,000 in Maine. To view the compensation of a particular governor, hover your mouse over the state.[2]
Staff size
According to figures for 2022 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, gubernatorial offices range in size from 9 staffers in Nebraska to 277 staffers in Texas.[2]
Involvement in budget proposals
Although all governors have some involvement in the process of developing a state budget, the specific level of involvement differs from state to state. According to information published in the 2022 Book of the States, 24 governors share responsibility for developing a budget proposal, while 11 governors have full responsibility for developing an initial budget proposal and the remaining 15 have full responsibility for developing a budget.[3]
Term limits
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Most states impose some form of term limits on governors; of those that do, all but Virginia limit a governor to two four-year terms or to eight years in office. Although most states' term limit laws allow a governor who has served two terms to be elected once again after time has elapsed, some states impose a lifetime term limit like that on the presidency. Although Vermont and New Hampshire do not have term limit laws, they are the only states whose governors serve two-year terms rather than four-year terms.
Line-item veto powers
The term line-item veto refers to the ability of a governor or other chief executive to veto specific parts of a bill while signing the rest of the bill into law. Currently, 44 states grant their governors line-item veto powers.[3]
See also
- State executive official elections, 2025
- Gubernatorial elections, 2023
- State executive official elections, 2023
Footnotes
- ↑ Because Justice switched his registration more than halfway through the year, he was counted as a Democrat in 2017 for the purposes of the chart.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2022 Table 4.3: The Governors: Compensation, Staff, Travel and Residence provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2022 Table 4.4: The Governors: Powers provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
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