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Election results, 2022: Governors
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. Partisan control changed 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), and in Massachusetts, where Maura Healey (D) defeated Geoff Diehl (R) to succeed incumbent Charlie Baker (R). Partisan control changed from Democratic to Republican in Nevada, where Joe Lombardo (R) defeated incumbent Steve Sisolak (D).
All four of the offices that changed party hands resulted in changes to state government trifecta status. Maryland and Massachusetts changed from divided government to a Democratic trifecta. Arizona shifted from a Republican trifecta to divided government, and Nevada shifted from a Democratic trifecta to divided government. State government trifecta is a term used to describe when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
The triplex statuses of Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts also changed from divided government to Democratic triplexes. State government triplex is a term used to describe when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Sisolak was the only incumbent defeated in 2022. Twenty-seven incumbents were re-elected: twelve Democrats and fifteen Republicans. Five open races were called for new governors-elect from the same party as their predecessor, and three open elections were called for governors-elect from a different party than their predecessor.
Three U.S. territories also held elections for governor in 2022. While this page includes links to pages on gubernatorial elections in the U.S. territories, it does not include the territories in its statistics.
On this page you will find:
- Changes in partisan control
- Changes in trifecta and triplex status
- Pre-election analysis
- Log of gubernatorial election results
Changes in partisan control
| Gubernatorial elections, 2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office flipped | 2020 presidential result | 2018 gubernatorial result[1] | 2022 gubernatorial result |
| Alabama |  Kay Ivey |
Yes | Kay Ivey |
2002 | R+25.4 | R+19.1 | R+38.0 |
| Alaska | Mike Dunleavy |
Yes | Mike Dunleavy |
2018 | R+10.0 | R+7.0 | R+26.1 |
| Arizona | Doug Ducey |
No* |  Katie Hobbs |
2009 | D+0.3 | R+14.2 | D+0.7 |
| Arkansas | Asa Hutchinson |
No* | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
2014 | R+27.6 | R+33.5 | R+28.0 |
| California | Gavin Newsom |
Yes | Gavin Newsom |
2010 | D+29.2 | D+23.8 | D+19.2 |
| Colorado | Jared Polis |
Yes | Jared Polis |
2006 | D+13.5 | D+10.6 | D+19.3 |
| Connecticut | Ned Lamont |
Yes | Ned Lamont |
2010 | D+20.1 | D+3.2 | D+13.0 |
| Florida | Ron DeSantis |
Yes | Ron DeSantis |
2010 | R+3.3 | R+0.4 | R+19.4 |
| Georgia | Brian Kemp |
Yes | Brian Kemp |
2002 | D+0.2 | R+1.4 | R+7.5 |
| Hawaii | David Ige |
No* | Joshua Green |
2010 | D+29.4 | D+29.0 | D+26.4 |
| Idaho | Brad Little |
Yes | Brad Little |
1994 | R+30.7 | R+21.6 | R+40.2 |
| Illinois | J.B. Pritzker |
Yes | J.B. Pritzker |
2018 | D+17.0 | D+15.7 | D+11.9 |
| Iowa | Kim Reynolds |
Yes | Kim Reynolds |
2010 | R+8.2 | R+2.8 | R+18.6 |
| Kansas | Laura Kelly |
Yes | Laura Kelly |
2018 | R+14.6 | D+5.0 | D+2.1 |
| Maine | Janet Mills |
Yes | Janet Mills |
2018 | D+9.1 | D+7.7 | D+12.9 |
| Maryland | Larry Hogan |
No* | Wes Moore |
2014 | D+33.2 | R+11.9 | D+31.7 |
| Massachusetts | Charles D. Baker |
No | Maura Healey |
2014 | D+33.5 | R+32.5 | D+28.6 |
| Michigan | Gretchen Whitmer |
Yes | Gretchen Whitmer |
2018 | D+2.8 | D+9.6 | D+10.6 |
| Minnesota | Tim Walz |
Yes | Tim Walz |
2010 | D+7.1 | D+11.4 | D+7.7 |
| Nebraska | Pete Ricketts |
No* | Jim Pillen |
1998 | R+19.1 | R+18.0 | R+23.8 |
| Nevada | Steve Sisolak |
Yes | Joe Lombardo |
2018 | D+2.4 | D+4.1 | R+1.4 |
| New Hampshire | Chris Sununu |
Yes | Chris Sununu |
2016 | D+7.3 | R+31.7 | R+15.6 |
| New Mexico | Michelle Lujan Grisham |
Yes | Michelle Lujan Grisham |
2018 | D+10.8 | D+14.4 | D+6.4 |
| New York | Kathy Hochul |
Yes | Kathy Hochul |
2006 | D+23.2 | D+23.4 | D+5.8 |
| Ohio | Mike DeWine |
Yes | Mike DeWine |
2010 | R+8.1 | R+3.7 | R+25.6 |
| Oklahoma | Kevin Stitt |
Yes | Kevin Stitt |
2010 | R+33.1 | R+12.1 | R+13.6 |
| Oregon | Kate Brown |
No* | Tina Kotek |
1986 | D+16.1 | D+6.4 | D+3.4 |
| Pennsylvania | Tom Wolf |
No* | Josh Shapiro |
2014 | D+1.2 | D+17.1 | D+14.6 |
| Rhode Island | Daniel McKee |
Yes | Daniel McKee |
2010 | D+20.8 | D+15.4 | D+19.1 |
| South Carolina | Henry McMaster |
Yes | Henry McMaster |
2002 | R+11.7 | R+8.1 | R+17.4 |
| South Dakota | Kristi Noem |
Yes | Kristi Noem |
1978 | R+26.2 | R+3.4 | R+26.8 |
| Tennessee | Bill Lee |
Yes | Bill Lee |
2010 | R+23.2 | R+21.0 | R+32.0 |
| Texas | Greg Abbott |
Yes | Greg Abbott |
1994 | R+5.6 | R+13.3 | R+11.0 |
| Vermont | Phil Scott |
Yes | Phil Scott |
2016 | D+35.1 | R+41.1 | R+47.2 |
| Wisconsin | Tony Evers |
Yes | Tony Evers |
2018 | D+0.7 | D+1.1 | D+3.4 |
| Wyoming | Mark Gordon |
Yes | Mark Gordon |
2010 | R+43.1 | R+39.6 | R+61.9 |
| * denotes a term-limited incumbent. | |||||||
Post-election partisan control
Changes in trifecta and triplex status
Seven states saw changes to their trifecta or triplex status as a result of 2022 elections.
Trifectas
State government trifecta is a term used to describe when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Six state government trifectas changed partisan control after the 2022 elections. As a result of the election, there were 22 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 11 divided governments where neither party had trifecta control. At the time of the 2022 election, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 14 Democratic trifectas, and 13 divided governments.
Four state government trifecta statuses changed as a result of the 2022 gubernatorial elections. Maryland and Massachusetts changed from divided government to a Democratic trifecta. Arizona shifted from a Republican trifecta to divided government, and Nevada shifted from a Democratic trifecta to divided government.
Michigan and Minnesota shifted from divided government to Democratic trifectas after control of chambers in their state legislatures flipped from Republican to Democratic control. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) were both re-elected.
Triplexes
State government triplex is a term used to describe when one political party holds the following three statewide offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
Four state government triplexes changed partisan control as a result of the 2022 elections. After the election, there were 24 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and five states with divided governments where neither party had triplex control. Heading into the 2022 election, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and 9 divided governments where neither party held triplex control.
Three state government triplex statuses changed as a result of the 2022 gubernatorial elections. Maryland, Massachusetts, and Arizona shifted from divided government to Democratic triplexes.
Iowa also changed triplex status, becoming a Republican triplex with Brenna Bird (R) defeating incumbent Tom Miller (D) in the state attorney general election. Kim Reynolds (R) and Paul Pate (R) were re-elected governor and secretary of state, respectively.
Pre-election analysis
Partisan balance
The following chart displays the number of governors' offices held by each party as of the 2022 elections and immediately after the elections took place.
| U.S. governors partisan breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2022 | After the 2022 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 22 | 24 (+2) | |
| Republican Party | 28 | 26 (-2) | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
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 34 following West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's switch to the Republican Party in August 2017.[2] 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. These changes brought Republicans to 28 governorships and Democrats to 22.
Seats up for election
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.
Table last updated December 20, 2022.
| Gubernatorial elections, 2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Incumbent running? | Election winner | Last time office flipped | 2020 presidential result | 2018 gubernatorial result[3] | 2022 gubernatorial result |
| Alabama | Kay Ivey |
Yes | Kay Ivey |
2002 | R+25.4 | R+19.1 | R+38.0 |
| Alaska | Mike Dunleavy |
Yes | Mike Dunleavy |
2018 | R+10.0 | R+7.0 | R+26.1 |
| Arizona | Doug Ducey |
No* | Katie Hobbs |
2009 | D+0.3 | R+14.2 | D+0.7 |
| Arkansas | Asa Hutchinson |
No* | Sarah Huckabee Sanders |
2014 | R+27.6 | R+33.5 | R+27.8 |
| California | Gavin Newsom |
Yes | Gavin Newsom |
2010 | D+29.2 | D+23.8 | D+18.4 |
| Colorado | Jared Polis |
Yes | Jared Polis |
2006 | D+13.5 | D+10.6 | D+19.3 |
| Connecticut | Ned Lamont |
Yes | Ned Lamont |
2010 | D+20.1 | D+3.2 | D+12.8 |
| Florida | Ron DeSantis |
Yes | Ron DeSantis |
2010 | R+3.3 | R+0.4 | R+19.4 |
| Georgia | Brian Kemp |
Yes | Brian Kemp |
2002 | D+0.2 | R+1.4 | R+7.5 |
| Hawaii | David Ige |
No* | Joshua Green |
2010 | D+29.4 | D+29.0 | D+26.4 |
| Idaho | Brad Little |
Yes | Brad Little |
1994 | R+30.7 | R+21.6 | R+40.2 |
| Illinois | J.B. Pritzker |
Yes | J.B. Pritzker |
2018 | D+17.0 | D+15.7 | D+12.0 |
| Iowa | Kim Reynolds |
Yes | Kim Reynolds |
2010 | R+8.2 | R+2.8 | R+18.6 |
| Kansas | Laura Kelly |
Yes | Laura Kelly |
2018 | R+14.6 | D+5.0 | D+2.1 |
| Maine | Janet Mills |
Yes | Janet Mills |
2018 | D+9.1 | D+7.7 | D+12.9 |
| Maryland | Larry Hogan |
No* | Wes Moore |
2014 | D+33.2 | R+11.9 | D+32.5 |
| Massachusetts | Charles D. Baker |
No | Maura Healey |
2014 | D+33.5 | R+32.5 | D+29.1 |
| Michigan | Gretchen Whitmer |
Yes | Gretchen Whitmer |
2018 | D+2.8 | D+9.6 | D+10.6 |
| Minnesota | Tim Walz |
Yes | Tim Walz |
2010 | D+7.1 | D+11.4 | D+7.7 |
| Nebraska | Pete Ricketts |
No* | Jim Pillen |
1998 | R+19.1 | R+18.0 | R+23.4 |
| Nevada | Steve Sisolak |
Yes | Joe Lombardo |
2018 | D+2.4 | D+4.1 | R+1.5 |
| New Hampshire | Chris Sununu |
Yes | Chris Sununu |
2016 | D+7.3 | R+31.7 | R+15.5 |
| New Mexico | Michelle Lujan Grisham |
Yes | Michelle Lujan Grisham |
2018 | D+10.8 | D+14.4 | D+6.4 |
| New York | Kathy Hochul |
Yes | Kathy Hochul |
2006 | D+23.2 | D+23.4 | D+5.8 |
| Ohio | Mike DeWine |
Yes | Mike DeWine |
2010 | R+8.1 | R+3.7 | R+25.6 |
| Oklahoma | Kevin Stitt |
Yes | Kevin Stitt |
2010 | R+33.1 | R+12.1 | R+13.6 |
| Oregon | Kate Brown |
No* | Tina Kotek |
1986 | D+16.1 | D+6.4 | D+3.4 |
| Pennsylvania | Tom Wolf |
No* | Josh Shapiro |
2014 | D+1.2 | D+17.1 | D+14.8 |
| Rhode Island | Daniel McKee |
Yes | Daniel McKee |
2010 | D+20.8 | D+15.4 | D+19.1 |
| South Carolina | Henry McMaster |
Yes | Henry McMaster |
2002 | R+11.7 | R+8.1 | R+17.4 |
| South Dakota | Kristi Noem |
Yes | Kristi Noem |
1978 | R+26.2 | R+3.4 | R+26.8 |
| Tennessee | Bill Lee |
Yes | Bill Lee |
2010 | R+23.2 | R+21.0 | R+32.0 |
| Texas | Greg Abbott |
Yes | Greg Abbott |
1994 | R+5.6 | R+13.3 | R+10.9 |
| Vermont | Phil Scott |
Yes | Phil Scott |
2016 | D+35.1 | R+41.1 | R+47.2 |
| Wisconsin | Tony Evers |
Yes | Tony Evers |
2018 | D+0.7 | D+1.1 | D+3.4 |
| Wyoming | Mark Gordon |
Yes | Mark Gordon |
2010 | R+43.1 | R+39.6 | R+61.9 |
| * denotes a term-limited incumbent. | |||||||
Battlegrounds
- See also: Gubernatorial battlegrounds, 2022
Ballotpedia identified 13 of the 36 gubernatorial elections in 2022 as general election battlegrounds: Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Of the 13, nine were in states with Democratic incumbents and four were in states with Republican incumbents. Three states had a governor of a party different from the candidate who won the state in the 2020 presidential election.
These battleground races were selected using the following criteria. For more information on our methodology, click here:
- the results of the 2020 presidential election in each state,
- whether the incumbent was seeking re-election,
- whether the governor's office changed partisan control the last time it was up for election, and
- how the Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales rated the race.
In addition to the competitiveness data above, races were included if they were particularly compelling or meaningful to the balance of power in governments for other reasons.
Battleground list
The following map displays all states that held gubernatorial elections in 2022 shaded by the incumbent's or most recent incumbent's political affiliation. Battleground races are highlighted in brighter colors. Hover over a state for more information.
| Battleground gubernatorial elections, 2022 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Open seat? | 2020 presidential Margin | Margin in previous election[4] |
| Alaska | Mike Dunleavy |
No | R+10.0 | R+7.0 |
| Arizona | Doug Ducey |
Yes | D+0.3 | R+14.2 |
| Connecticut | Ned Lamont |
Yes | D+20.1 | D+3.2 |
| Georgia | Brian Kemp |
No | D+0.2 | R+1.4 |
| Kansas | Laura Kelly |
No | R+14.6 | D+5.0 |
| Maine | Janet Mills |
No | D+9.1 | D+7.7 |
| Michigan | Gretchen Whitmer |
No | D+2.8 | D+9.6 |
| Minnesota | Tim Walz |
No | D+7.1 | D+11.4 |
| Nevada | Steve Sisolak |
No | D+2.4 | D+4.1 |
| Oklahoma | Kevin Stitt |
No | R+33.1 | R+12.1 |
| Oregon | Kate Brown |
No | D+16.1 | D+6.4 |
| Pennsylvania | Tom Wolf |
Yes | D+1.2 | D+17.1 |
| Wisconsin | Tony Evers |
No | D+0.7 | D+1.1 |
Outside race ratings
The following table compared gubernatorial race ratings from The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections prior to the November 2022 elections.
State government trifectas at the time of the 2022 election
The map below displays the pre-election trifecta status for each state.
State government triplexes at the time of the 2022 election
Log of gubernatorial election results
This section includes a timeline of gubernatorial election results.
See also
- Gubernatorial elections, 2022
- Election results, 2022: State government trifectas
- State government triplexes
- State government trifectas
- Election results, 2022: Split-ticket voting in statewide elections
- ↑ 2020 election for New Hampshire and Vermont.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 2020 election for New Hampshire and Vermont.
- ↑ The previous gubernatorial election took place in 2020 in New Hampshire and in 2018 in all other states.
