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Gubernatorial elections, 2024
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There were 11 gubernatorial offices on the ballot in 2024. These elections were in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
As a result of the 2024 elections, the partisan balance of governors was unchanged at 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. Heading into the 2024 elections, 27 governors were Republicans and 23 were Democrats. In the states with gubernatorial elections in 2024, eight had Republican governors and three had a Democratic governor.
Two states that elected their governor in 2024—New Hampshire and North Carolina—were rated as Lean or Toss-up by at least two of the following three outside political ratings publications: The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections. Both New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) did not run for re-election in 2024. The other nine states that held gubernatorial elections were rated as solid or safe for either one party or the other by at least two of those three outside political ratings publications.
Thirty-six states held elections for governor in 2022. Democrats and Republicans each won 18 races. Before the 2022 elections, Republicans held 20 of these governorships, and Democrats held 16. Four offices changed parties. To read more about those elections, click here.
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.
Election results
- See also: Election results, 2024: Governors
Republicans won eight governorships, and Democrats won three governorships. Democrats retained the governorships in Delaware, North Carolina, and Washington, and Republicans retained the governorships in Indiana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Missouri, Montana, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. This was the first even-year election since 2000 where no governorships changed partisan control.
Ballotpedia identified three races as noteworthy. These include elections for governor in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Washington. New Hampshire and North Carolina were rated as Lean or Toss-up by at least two of the following three outside political ratings publications: The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections. In North Carolina, Josh Stein (D) defeated Mark Robinson (R), and in New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte (R) defeated Joyce Craig (D). In Washington, Bob Ferguson (D) defeated Dave Reichert (R). Before the elections, a Democrat had controlled the governorship of North Carolina since 2017, a Republican had controlled the governorship of New Hampshire since 2017, and a Democrat had controlled the governorship of Washington since 1985.
In 2024, only three incumbents were up for election, while eight races were open. All three incumbents, Spencer Cox (R) of Utah, Greg Gianforte (R) of Montana, and Phil Scott (R) of Vermont, were re-elected. In 2020, when the previous gubernatorial elections were held for most of these offices, incumbents won nine of the eleven races. Spencer Cox (R) won in Utah, where Republican incumbent Gary Herbert (R) did not run for re-election. Greg Gianforte (R) won in Montana, where incumbent Gov. Steve Bullock (D) was term-limited, making Montana's governorship the only one to change party control in 2020. Click here for more about these elections.
As of November 25, 2024, no states saw their trifecta or triplex status change as a result of the gubernatorial elections. To read more about trifecta statuses after the 2024 elections, click here. To read more about triplex statuses after the 2024 elections, click here.
American Samoa and Puerto Rico also held gubernatorial elections. While this page includes links to pages on gubernatorial elections in these territories, it does not include them in its statistics.
The following table highlights the change in governorships before and after the 2024 elections.
| Governors' seats up in 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2024 elections | After the 2024 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Republican Party | 8 | 8 | |
| Total | 11 | 11 | |
The following chart shows states holding gubernatorial elections in 2024 by the party of the winning candidate.
| Gubernatorial elections, 2024 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office changed parties | 2020 presidential result | 2020 gubernatorial result[1] | 2024 election result |
| Delaware | No | 1993 | D+18.9 | D+20.9 | D+11.8 | ||
| Indiana | No | 2005 | R+16.0 | R+24.4 | R+15.2 | ||
| Missouri | No | 2017 | R+15.4 | R+16.4 | R+16.2 | ||
| Montana | Yes | 2021 | R+16.4 | R+12.8 | R+21.7 | ||
| New Hampshire | No[2] | 2017 | D+7.3 | R+15.0 | R+6.3 | ||
| North Carolina | No | 2017 | R+1.3 | D+4.5 | D+11.7 | ||
| North Dakota | No[3] | 1992 | R+33.3 | R+40.4 | R+44.8 | ||
| Utah | Yes | 1985 | R+20.5 | R+32.7 | R+26 | ||
| Vermont | Yes | 2017 | D+35.1 | R+47.2 | R+49.5 | ||
| Washington | No[4] | 1985 | D+19.2 | D+13.5 | D 12.8 | ||
| West Virginia | No | 2017[5] | R+38.9 | R+33.3 | R+33.6 | ||
List of candidates
The table below contains a list of all candidates for governor in 2024. 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.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Won General Runoff | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General | ||
Nonpartisan | Lost General Runoff |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Nonpartisan | Withdrew (Write-in) General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Libertarian | Lost Convention | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Disqualified Primary | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Green | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary | ||
Independent | Withdrew General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Constitution Party | Withdrew General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
Constitution Party | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Green | Lost General | ||
Libertarian | Lost Primary | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Independent | Withdrew (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Withdrew (Write-in) General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
New Progressive Party | Won General | ||
Citizen's Victory Movement | Lost General | ||
New Progressive Party | Lost Primary | ||
Popular Democratic Party | Lost General | ||
Popular Democratic Party | Lost Primary | ||
Project Dignity | Lost General | ||
Puerto Rican Independence Party | Lost General | ||
Independent | Withdrew General | ||
Independent | Withdrew General | ||
Independent | Withdrew General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Round 1 | ||
Republican | Lost Round 2 | ||
Republican | Lost Round 1 | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Independent American Party | Lost General | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Unaffiliated | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Unaffiliated | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Unaffiliated | Lost General | ||
Unaffiliated | Withdrew (Write-in) General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic, Vermont Progressive Party | Lost General | ||
Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost General | ||
Vermont Progressive Party | Withdrew General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Constitution Party | Lost (Write-in) Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Democratic | Lost Primary | ||
Green | Lost Primary | ||
Independence Party | Lost Primary | ||
Independent Party | Lost Primary | ||
Independent Party | Lost Primary | ||
Independent Party | Lost Primary | ||
Libertarian | Lost Primary | ||
No party preference | Lost Primary | ||
No party preference | Lost Primary | ||
No party preference | Lost Primary | ||
No party preference | Lost (Write-in) Primary | ||
Nonsense Busters Party | Lost Primary | ||
Standup-America Party | Lost Primary | ||
Trump Republican Party | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Constitution Party | Withdrew Primary | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary | ||
Democratic | Withdrew Primary | ||
No party preference | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Won General | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Republican | Lost Primary | ||
Constitution Party | Lost General | ||
Democratic | Lost General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Independent | Lost (Write-in) General | ||
Libertarian | Lost General | ||
Mountain Party | Lost General | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
What's on your ballot?
- See also: Sample Ballot Lookup
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 September 12, 2025, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 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 September 12, 2025, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Important dates and deadlines
The following table details 2024 gubernatorial filing deadlines and primary dates in each state. The signature filing deadline was the date by which candidates had to file nominating signatures with election officials in order to have their name placed on the ballot.
| 2024 Election Dates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Filing deadline | Primary election | ||||
| Delaware | July 9 | September 10 | ||||
| Indiana | February 9 | May 7 | ||||
| Missouri | March 26 | August 6 | ||||
| Montana | March 11 | June 4 | ||||
| New Hampshire | June 14 | September 10 | ||||
| North Carolina | December 15 | March 5 | ||||
| North Dakota | April 8 | June 11 | ||||
| Utah | January 8 | June 25 | ||||
| Vermont | May 30 | August 13 | ||||
| Washington | May 17 | August 6 | ||||
| West Virginia | January 27 | May 14 | ||||
Historical control
In the U.S. Territories, seven legislative chambers held regularly scheduled elections for 169 seats in 2024. Elections were held for the American Samoa House of Representatives, the Guam Legislature, the Puerto Rico Senate and House of Representatives, the Northern Mariana Islands Senate and House of Representatives, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature.
As of September 12th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.51% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.66%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.
| Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber | Vacant | |||||||
| State senates | 833 | 1,122 | 5 | 13 | ||||
| State houses | 2,392 | 2,978 | 20 | 23 | ||||
| Total: | 3,225
|
4,100
|
25
|
36 | ||||
Featured analysis
- State legislative seats that changed party control in 2024: As a result of the Nov. 5, 2024, elections, partisan composition of all 7,386 state legislative seats changed by 0.7 percentage points. Democrats had a net loss of 54 seats, representing 0.7% of all state legislative seats. Republicans had a net gain of 55 seats, representing 0.7% of all state legislative seats. Independents and minor party officeholders had a net loss of one seat, representing 0.01% of all state legislative seats.
- Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022: Competitiveness refers to the presence of choice throughout the election cycle. A greater level of competitiveness means voters have the ability to make more decisions. A lower level of competitiveness equals fewer choices. State legislative competitiveness in 2022 reached its highest level compared to all even-year election cycles since 2010. In 2022, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index is 36.2, beating out 2018 (36.1) and the 2012 post-redistricting cycle (35.2).
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2024 state legislative elections.
- Annual Competitiveness Report
- State legislative special elections
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024
- Impact of term limits
- Open seats
- Contested primaries
- Incumbents in contested primaries
- Data on incumbents defeated in 2024
- Major party competition
- Unconstested incumbents
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2024 elections
- Candidates with the same last names, 2024
- Rematches in 2024 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2024
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
- Election results, 2024: State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Wave election analysis
- Election results, 2024: Incumbent win rates by state
- Election results, 2024: Uncontested races by state
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2024
- Margin of victory analysis for the 2024 state legislative elections
- Election results, 2024: State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
State executive elections
- See also: State executive official elections, 2024
State executive offices up for election in 2024 included 11 gubernatorial seats, nine lieutenant gubernatorial seats, 10 attorney general seats, and seven secretary of state seats. Including down-ballot races, there were 167 state executive seats up for election across 30 states in 2024.[7]
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.
Featured analysis (from 2022)
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2022 elections: Thirteen state government trifectas were vulnerable in the 2022 elections, according to Ballotpedia's annual trifecta vulnerability ratings. Democrats defended seven vulnerable trifectas and Republicans defended six. A state government trifecta occurs when one party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 37 state government trifectas: 23 Republican trifectas and 14 Democratic trifectas. The remaining 13 states had a divided government where neither party had a trifecta.
- State government triplexes: Heading into the November 8 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and 9 divided governments where neither party held triplex control. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.[8] In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes.[9]
- Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report: Ballotpedia's 2022 study of competitiveness in state executive official elections found that 37.1% of incumbents did not seek re-election, leaving those offices open. This was higher than in 2020 (35.6%) and 2014 (32.7%) but lower than in 2018 (38.6%) and 2016 (45.2%). The decade average for open offices was 37.8%.
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2024 state executive elections.
- State executive official elections overview
- State executive officials election results
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024
- Gubernatorial elections
- Split-ticket states in the 2024 presidential and gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- State government trifectas
- Endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates, 2024
- Impact of term limits on state executive elections
- Rematches in 2024 general elections
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2024
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2024
- Wave election analysis
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2024
State judicial elections
- See also: State judicial elections, 2024
A total of 306 appellate court seats were up for election in 2024. The seats included:
- 83 supreme court seats.
- 223 intermediate appellate court seats.
Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.
In addition, in the U.S. Territories, four judges were on the ballot in retention elections in 2024. One judge on the Guam Supreme Court, two on the Guam Superior Court, and one on the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court stood for retention to remain on the bench.
Featured analysis
- Partisanship of state supreme court judges: In June 2020, Ballotpedia conducted a study into the partisanship of state supreme court justices. The study placed each justice into one of five categories indicating confidence in their affiliations with either the Democratic or Republican Parties. These categories were Strong Democratic, Mild Democratic, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2024 state judicial elections.
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.
See also
- State executive official elections, 2024
- Gubernatorial elections, 2022
- State executive official elections, 2022
Election coverage by office
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- Governors
- Secretary of state
- Attorney general
- Other state executives
- State legislatures
- State ballot measures
- Local ballot measures
- State judges
- Local judges
- Municipal government
- School boards
- Recalls
Footnotes
- ↑ 2022 election for New Hampshire and Vermont.
- ↑ Sununu announced he would not run for re-election on July 19, 2023.
- ↑ Burgum announced that he was running for president of the United States on June 7, 2023.
- ↑ Inslee announced on May 1, 2023, that he would not run for re-election in 2024.
- ↑ Justice was elected as a Democrat and switched to the Republican Party in 2017.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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 chose to highlight these offices because they are typically the most visible positions in states and serve important administrative functions.
- ↑ This is because it is very uncommon for an attorney general or secretary of state appointed by a governor to often be in direct conflict with that governor.
- ↑ Book of the States, "2023 edition: Chapter 4 - Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed December 18, 2024
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2022 Table 4.4: The Governors: Powers provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Because Justice switched his registration more than halfway through the year, he is considered to be a Democrat in 2017 for the purposes of this chart.
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