Election results, 2022: State executive officials
State executive offices up for election in 2022 included 36 gubernatorial offices, 30 lieutenant gubernatorial offices, 30 attorney general offices, and 27 secretary of state offices. Including down-ballot races, there were 307 state executive offices up for election across 44 states in 2022.[1]
See below for information on:
- Offices up for election
- Total executive offices by party
- Current state government trifectas
- Current state government triplexes
For November 8, 2022, election results, see:
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: 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.
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
- See also: Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2022
There were 30 lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2022. Before the elections, these offices were held by 15 Republicans and 15 Democrats.
The partisan control of three lieutenant governors' offices changed:
- One incumbent lieutenant governor was defeated in 2022, resulting in a switch from Republican to Democrat. Stavros S. Anthony (R) defeated Lisa Cano (D) in Nevada.
- In two states—Maryland and Massachusetts—the partisan control of the lieutenant governor's office changed from Democrat to Republican. The governor and lieutenant governor were elected on a joint ticket in both states. In Maryland, Aruna Miller (D) succeeded incumbent Boyd Rutherford (R), and in Massachusetts, Kim Driscoll (D) succeeded incumbent Karyn Polito (R).
The process for selecting a lieutenant governor varies from state to state. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the member of the state Senate chosen to serve as its president becomes the lieutenant governor. In the other 43 states with lieutenant governors, the officeholder is elected—this election is separate from the gubernatorial election in 17 states and is held on a joint ticket in the other 26.
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 are often involved in the proceedings of the state Senate.
After the 2022 elections, the partisan composition of the 45 lieutenant governors was 25 Republicans and 20 Democrats.
Attorney general elections
As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan composition of state attorneys general was 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans.
All 50 states have an attorney general who serves 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. Seventeen states impose some form of term limits on attorneys general.
- Republicans gained the state attorney general's office in Iowa as Brenna Bird (R) defeated incumbent Tom Miller (D).
- Democrats gained the state attorney general's offices in Arizona and Vermont.
- Kris Mayes (D) defeated Abraham Hamadeh (R) in the open-seat race to succeed Mark Brnovich (R) in Arizona.
- Charity Clark (D) defeated Michael Tagliavia (R) to succeed Susanne Young (R) in Vermont. Gov. Phil Scott (R) appointed Young to replace former Attorney General T.J. Donovan (D) in 2022.
Voters decided who would control 34 of 50 state attorney general offices on November 8. Thirty offices were up for election, and four offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot. Before the election, the nationwide partisan balance of attorneys general was 22 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
Secretary of state elections
As a result of the 2022 elections, the partisan control of one secretary of state changed from Republican to Democrat. Democrats also won appointment control over another secretary of state—in Maryland—after winning that state's gubernatorial election.
- In Nevada, Cisco Aguilar (D) was elected secretary of state, succeeding incumbent Barbara Cegavske (R), who was term-limited. Nevada will remain with a divided government after the 2022 elections even though the partisan control of the secretary of state office changed. In Nevada's gubernatorial election, Joe Lombardo (R) defeated incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak (D).
- Wes Moore (D) was elected governor of Maryland, succeeding Larry Hogan (R), who was term-limited. This gave Democrats appointment control over the secretary of state's office. Maryland had at the time of the election a Republican secretary of state that Hogan appointed. Maryland will become a Democratic triplex after winning the governorship and also gaining appointment control over the secretary of state.
In the nine elections Ballotpedia designated as battlegrounds, five were in states with Democratic incumbents, and four were in states with Republican incumbents. Only the Nevada race changed partisan control from Republican to Democrat. All 15 incumbents that ran for re-election—8 Democrats and 7 Republicans—were re-elected.
In 47 states—all except Alaska, Hawaii, and Utah—the secretary of state is among the top executive offices. Although the duties and powers of individual secretaries of state vary, a common responsibility is management and oversight of elections and voter rolls, which are assigned to the secretary of state in 41 states. Other common responsibilities include registration of businesses, maintenance of state records, and certification of official documents.
Voters decided who would control 35 of the country’s 47 secretary of state offices on November 8, 2022. Twenty-seven offices were up for election, and eight offices’ appointment authorities were on the ballot.
State financial officer elections
On November 8, 2022, voters either directly or indirectly decided who would control 68 of the 105 state financial officerships (SFOs) nationwide (65%).
Different states have different names for these elected officials, but they all fall into three groups: treasurers, auditors, and controllers. Broadly, these officials are responsible for things like auditing other government offices, managing payroll, and overseeing pensions. In some states, certain SFOs are also responsible for investing state retirement and trust funds, meaning they get to decide where that public money goes.
The SFO offices that voters affected in the 2022 election included:
- 50 offices directly elected by voters.
- Nine offices where the current term ended in 2023 or 2024 that would be filled by the governors or legislators elected.
- Nine offices that did not have a term length but served at the pleasure of elected officials up for election.
At the time of the November 8 election, there were:
- 42 SFOs who were Democrats or were appointed by Democrats;
- 56 SFOs who were Republicans or were appointed by Republicans;
- Seven SFOs who were appointed by a combination of Democrats and Republicans or who were appointed by non-elected appointees or multi-member boards.
After the November 8 election, there were:
- 39 elected Democrats or positions that are expected to be appointed by Democrats;
- 60 elected Republicans or positions that are expected to be appointed by Republicans;
- Six SFOs who are expected to be appointed by a combination of Democrats and Republicans or who are appointed by non-elected appointees or multi-member boards.
Of the positions affected by the 2022 election, Democrats won 21 out of 50 directly elected positions and Republicans won 29.
The following positions changed or are expected to change, either as a result of direct election in 2022 or through a partisan change in an appointing entity: Iowa Treasurer of State, Kansas Treasurer, Missouri State Auditor, Nevada Controller, Wisconsin Treasurer, Massachusetts Comptroller of the Commonwealth, and Minnesota Commissioner of Management and Budget.
Offices up for election
The table below shows the partisan breakdown nationwide for the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. The table also shows the partisan breakdown for those offices up for election on November 8, 2022.
| State executive elections, 2022 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Pre-election partisan balance (all offices) | Pre-election partisan balance (offices up for election) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
| Governor | 22 | 28 | 0 | 16 | 20 | 0 | |
| Lieutenant governor | 21 | 25 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 0 | |
| Attorney general | 23 | 27 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 0 | |
| Secretary of state | 20 | 27 | 0 | 13 | 14 | 0 | |
Total executive offices by party
Of the 307 state executive positions up for election in 2022, 156 were held by Republicans heading into the election, 125 were held by Democrats, and 24 were nonpartisan offices or held by an independent or minor party officeholder. In addition, two of the seats on the Colorado State Board of Education that were up for election in 2022 did not have an incumbent because they were created in 2022 following redistricting.
The chart below shows a breakdown of partisan control by office type.
Pre-election state government trifectas
Pre-election state government triplexes
See also
- Election results, 2022
- Election results, 2022: Control of the U.S. House
- Election results, 2022: State government trifectas
- Election results, 2022: Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections
- Election results, 2022: State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Election results, 2022: State government triplexes
- Election results, 2022: Partisan balance of governors
External links
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.
