Governor (United States)

History

In colonial North America, governors were chosen in a variety of ways, depending on how the colony was organized. In the crown colonies of Great Britain, France, and Spain, the governor was chosen by the ruling monarch of the colonizing power, or his designees; in British colonies, the Board of Trade was often the primary decision maker. Colonies based on a corporate charter, such as the Connecticut Colony and the Massachusetts Bay Colony, elected their own governors based on rules spelled out in the charter or other colonial legislation. In proprietary colonies, such as the Province of Carolina before it became a crown colony (and was divided into North and South), governors were chosen by the Lords Proprietor who controlled the colony. In the early years of the American Revolutionary War, eleven of the Thirteen Colonies evicted (with varying levels of violence) royal and proprietary governors. The other two colonies (Connecticut and Rhode Island) had corporate charters; Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull was governor before and during the war period, while in Rhode Island, Governor Joseph Wanton was removed from office in 1775 for failing to support the rebel war effort.

Before achieving statehood, many of the 37 states, after the initial 13, were Territories of the United States or parts of territories. Administered by the federal government, they had governors who were appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate rather than elected by the resident population. Election of territorial governors began in Puerto Rico in 1948. The last appointed territorial governor, Hyrum Rex Lee in American Samoa, left office in 1978.

Demographics

Party

As of January 2026, there are 26 states with a Republican governor and 24 states with a Democratic governor. Four Democrats (including the Mayor of the District of Columbia), one Independent, and one New Progressive also occupy territorial governorships or mayorships. No independent and other third parties currently hold a state governorship.

Tenure

For each term, governors serve four years in office. The exceptions are Vermont and New Hampshire where tenures are two years long.

The longest-serving current governor is Greg Abbott of Texas, who was re-elected to his third term in 2022 and seeking re-election to a fourth term in 2026.

The longest-serving governor of all time was Terry Branstad of Iowa, who was elected to his sixth (non-consecutive) term in 2014. Governor Branstad resigned on May 24, 2017, to become the United States Ambassador to China. He held the title of Governor of Iowa for 22 years. On December 14, 2015, he became the longest-serving governor in US history, breaking the record held by George Clinton of New York, who served 21 years from 1777 to 1795 and from 1801 to 1804.

In the majority of states and territories, term limit laws officially cap a governor's tenure.

Age

The oldest current state governor is Kay Ivey of Alabama, who was born on October 15, 1944. The youngest current state governor is Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, who was born on August 13, 1982. Among territorial governors, Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam, born on November 8, 1950, is the oldest, and Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico, born on August 5, 1976, is the youngest.

The youngest person to ever serve as a governor in the United States was Stevens T. Mason of the Michigan Territory, first elected in 1835 having just turned 24. Mason would later become the first governor of the state of Michigan when it was admitted to the Union in January 1837, when he was 25. Mason was re-elected in November 1837, then age 26.

The second youngest governor ever elected was Henry C. Warmoth of Louisiana, who was elected during reconstruction in 1868 at the age of 26. The third youngest governor was William Sprague IV of Rhode Island, who was elected in 1860 at the age of 29. When future President Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas in 1978 at age 32, he became the youngest governor since Harold Stassen of Minnesota, elected in 1938 at age 31.

In 35 states, the minimum age requirement of the governor is age 30 years old or older, though in some it is age 25 years old or older (7), age 21 years old or older (1), or age 18 years old or older (5). Oklahoma is the only state with an older minimum age requirement, age 31 years old or older. Some states require the governor to be a qualified elector/voter, implying a minimum age of 18. Vermont requires candidates to be residents of the state for at least four years as of Election Day, which would preclude small children from running, but has no other implicit or explicit age limit.

Gender

As of January 2026, 36 men and 14 women serve as state governors. The 14 female governors are: Kay Ivey of Alabama, Katie Hobbs of Arizona, Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, Laura Kelly of Kansas, Janet Mills of Maine, Maura Healey of Massachusetts, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Kathy Hochul of New York, Tina Kotek of Oregon, and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. Of those, Ayotte, Huckabee Sanders, Ivey, and Reynolds are Republicans, while Healey, Hobbs, Hochul, Kelly, Kotek, Lujan Grisham, Mills, Sherrill, Spanberger, and Whitmer are Democrats. This record of 14 was briefly matched for less than two weeks in January 2025 following the inauguration of Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire on January 9 but prior to the departure of Bethany Hall-Long of Delaware on January 21.

4 territorial governors are male; one territorial governor and the mayor of Washington, D.C. are female.

44 women have served or are currently serving as state or territorial governors, including two in an acting capacity.

The first female governor was Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming (widow of the late Wyoming Governor William B. Ross) who was elected on November 4, 1924, and sworn in on January 5, 1925, succeeding Frank Lucas. Also elected on November 4, 1924, was Miriam A. Ferguson of Texas (wife of former Texas Governor James E. Ferguson), succeeding Pat Morris Neff on January 21, 1925. The first female governor elected without being the wife or widow of a past state governor was Ella T. Grasso of Connecticut, elected in 1974 and sworn in on January 8, 1975.

Connecticut, Arizona, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New Mexico are the only five states to have elected female governors from both major parties. Arizona was the first state where a woman followed another woman as governor (they were from different parties). Arizona also has had the most female governors with a total of five, and is the first state to have three women in a row serve as governor. Washington was the first state to have both a female governor and female U.S. Senators serving at the same time (Christine Gregoire; Patty Murray; Maria Cantwell, respectively), from 2005 to 2013. New Hampshire was the first and currently only state to have a female governor and entirely female Congressional delegation serving at the same time, from 2013 to 2015.

LGBTQ status

There are currently three governors from the LGBTQ community: Jared Polis (Colorado), who is gay, along with Tina Kotek (Oregon) and Maura Healey (Massachusetts), who are both lesbian.

Race and ethnicity

Ethnic minorities as defined by the United States Census currently constitute 38.9% of the total population of the U.S. as of 2018. There are currently 47 state governors who are non-Hispanic whites of European American background. There are 3 minority governors: Wes Moore of Maryland, who is black, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, who is of Hispanic descent; and Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation. Stitt is a Republican, while Grisham and Moore are Democrats.

Among the five U.S. territories, one Hispanic (Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico), one Black (Albert Bryan of the U.S. Virgin Islands), and three Pacific Islander Americans (Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam, Pula Nikolao Pula of American Samoa, and Arnold Palacios of the Northern Mariana Islands) currently serve as governor. African-American Muriel Bowser is the current Mayor of the District of Columbia, an office equivalent to a governor.

In 1990, Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the first African-American governor of any state since the Reconstruction era.

Birthplace

Seventeen of the current state governors were born outside of the state they are serving as governor. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska (born in Pennsylvania), Ned Lamont of Connecticut (born in Washington, D.C.), Josh Green of Hawaii (born in New York), J. B. Pritzker of Illinois (born in California), Laura Kelly of Kansas (born in New York), Maura Healey of Massachusetts (born in Maryland), Tim Walz of Minnesota (born in Nebraska), Greg Gianforte of Montana (born in California), Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey (born in Virginia), Abigail Spanberger of Virginia (Born in New Jersey), Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma (born in Florida), Tina Kotek of Oregon (born in Pennsylvania), Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania (born in Missouri), Mark Gordon of Wyoming (born in New York), and Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia (born in New York City). One governor, Joe Lombardo of Nevada, was born outside the United States (born in Sapporo, Japan).

State constitutions have varying requirements for the length of citizenship and residency of the governor but unlike the President, state governors do not need to be natural-born citizens. There is some ambiguity in some state constitutions if a governor must be a citizen or just a resident.

Physical disability

Two legally blind governors have served: Bob C. Riley, who was acting governor of Arkansas for 11 days in January 1975, and David Paterson, who was governor of New York from 2008 until 2011.

The current governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has been paraplegic since an accident in 1984; he has used a wheelchair ever since. Governor of New York Franklin D. Roosevelt was paraplegic; he later became the first wheelchair-using president. Governor of Alabama George Wallace was paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in 1972. He never walked again.

Salary

The average salary of a state governor in 2009 was $124,398. The highest salary currently being accepted is that of New York Governor Kathy Hochul at $225,000. The lowest salaries are those of Maine Governor Janet Mills and Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico at $70,000 each.

There have been several instances where the governor of a state has either refused their salary in its entirety or instead only taken $1.00 per year. Alabama Governor Robert J. Bentley refused his yearly salary of $119,950.00 until the state reached full employment. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder took a $1.00 yearly salary. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has returned his salary to the state during each year he has held office. During his tenure as Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger also did not accept his salary of $170,000 per year. However, several governors instead have decided to take a reduction in their salary instead of refusing it entirely. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took a 5% reduction in his salary in 2015, and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear reduced his salary by 10% during the same year.

Only nine states (Massachusetts, California, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia) currently offer their governors a higher salary than the $174,000 paid to members of Congress. In many states, the governor is not the highest-paid state employee; most often, that distinction is held by the head football or men's basketball coach at a major state university.

State governor salaries by state

This table listed below displays the gubernatorial salary by state as of the most recent year data is available. This includes the money that is allocated towards their salary whether or not a state governor decides to take that salary or not. The Governor of Maine was the lowest paid governor being paid $70,000 in 2023 while the highest paid state Governor was the Governor of New York who was paid $250,000 in 2023.

Gubernatorial election timeline

Staggered election years

The fixed terms of governors are staggered, and may be held up for election in any presidential, midterm, or off-year election year. Two states, New Hampshire and Vermont, elect their governors to two-year terms. The other 48 states, all five territories, and the District of Columbia elect theirs to four-year terms.

Almost all gubernatorial elections are held on Election Day, the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November (i.e., the Tuesday that occurs within November 2 to November 8). Louisiana instead holds its gubernatorial primary on the third or fourth Saturday of October and the general election (commonly referred to as the runoff within the state) on the third Saturday of November, but the general election is canceled if one candidate wins the primary outright

Even-numbered election year cycle

Governors from 2 states are elected to two-year terms every even-numbered year. They were last elected in 2024 and their next election will be in 2026.

Recent years are 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2026.

States include: New Hampshire and Vermont.

Midterm election year cycle

Governors from 34 states and 3 territories, as well as the Mayor of the District of Columbia, are elected during every midterm election year. They were last elected in 2022 and their next election will be in 2026.

Recent years are 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.

States and territories include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia (mayor), Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Presidential election year cycle

Governors from 9 states and 2 territories are elected during every presidential election year. They were last elected in 2024 and their next election will be in 2028.

Recent years are 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.

States and territories include: Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico.

Off-year cycle before the presidential election year

Governors from 3 states are elected in the off-year before the presidential election year. They were last elected in 2023 and their next election will be in 2027.

Recent years are 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.

States include: Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Off-year cycle after the presidential election year

Governors from 2 states are elected in the off-year after the presidential election year. They were last elected in 2025 and their next election will be in 2029.

Recent years are 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021, and 2025.

States include: New Jersey and Virginia.

Gubernatorial primaries

All states except for California, Louisiana, and Washington hold partisan primaries in which each political party holds a primary election, and the winner of each primary election then moves on to compete the general election. California, Louisiana, and Washington instead hold nonpartisan primaries in which all candidates run against each other at once, regardless of political party, and the top two candidates then move on to the general election. However, the winner of the Louisiana primary automatically wins that state's office (and thus no general election is required there) if they get more than 50% of the votes cast. California prohibits write-in candidates from competing in the general election.

Comparison with other U.S. general elections

¹ This table does not include special elections, which may be held to fill political offices that have become vacant between the regularly scheduled elections.

² As well as all six non-voting delegates of the U.S. House.

³ As well as five non-voting delegates of the U.S. House. The resident commissioner of Puerto Rico instead serves a four-year term that coincides with the presidential term.

⁴ The governors of New Hampshire and Vermont are each elected to two-year terms. The other 48 state governors and all five territorial governors serve four-year terms.

⁵ In 26 states and 3 territories the lieutenant governor is elected on the same ticket as the governor: AK, CO, CT, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, MT, NE, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, PA, SC, SD, UT, WI, GU, MP, VI.

⁶ Like the governor, Vermont's other officials are each elected to two-year terms. All other state officers for all other states listed serve four-year terms.

⁷ In some states, the comptroller or controller has the duties equivalent to a treasurer. There are some states with both positions, so both have been included separately.

⁸ This list does not differentiate chambers of each legislature. Forty-nine state legislatures are bicameral; Nebraska is unicameral. Additionally, Washington, DC, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands are unicameral; the other territories are bicameral. All legislatures have varying terms for their members. Many have two-year terms for the lower house and four-year terms for the upper house. Some have all two-year terms and some all four-year terms. Arkansas has a combination of both two- and four-year terms in the same chamber.

⁹ Most states not listed here have a board appointed by the governor and legislature. All boards listed here have members that serve four-year staggered terms, except Colorado, which has six-year terms, and Guam, which has two-year terms. Most are elected statewide, some are elected from districts. Louisiana, Ohio, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands have additional members who are appointed.

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Term limits

In most states, governors can serve two four-year terms.

Relationship with lieutenant governor

The type of relationship between the governor and the lieutenant governor greatly varies by state. In some states the governor and lieutenant governor are completely independent of each other, while in others the governor gets to choose (prior to the election) who would be their lieutenant governor.

• Five states do not have a lieutenant governor. In those states, a different constitutional officer assumes the office of the governor should there be a vacancy in the office. Those states are Arizona, Oregon, and, Wyoming where the Secretary of State is next in line, and Maine and New Hampshire, where the President of the Senate is next in line. This may exactly lead to the constitutional officers sometimes originating from the different political parties.
• Two states have the State Senate appoint the lieutenant governor, which means that the governor and the lieutenant governor may be from different parties. Those states are Tennessee and West Virginia.
• 17 states have the separate elections for the governor and the lieutenant governor, which means the governor and the lieutenant governor may be from different political parties. Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
• Seven states have the governor and the lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket, but the governor does not get to choose their own running mate. In those states, the primaries for governor and lieutenant governor are held separately, and the winners run together as a joint ticket in the general election. The governor and lieutenant governor would therefore be from the same party, but not necessarily political allies. Those states are Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
• 19 states have the governor and the lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket, where the gubernatorial candidate gets to choose their running mate similar to the President and Vice President of the United States. In nine of those states, Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Utah, the gubernatorial candidates pick their running mates before the primaries. In the other ten states, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, and South Dakota, the running mate is chosen after the primary. The latter system allows the nominee to potentially select a defeated primary competitor. -

Constitutional gubernatorial qualifications by state

With the notable exception of Kansas, each of the states specifies in its constitution its qualifications for Governor.