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Gubernatorial battlegrounds, 2024
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Eleven states held elections for governor in 2024. Of those, Ballotpedia identified two as general election battlegrounds—New Hampshire and North Carolina.
Of the two, one was in a state with a Democratic incumbent and one was in a state with a Republican incumbent. Both were in states with an incumbent governor from a different party then the one that 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.
In 2022, Ballotpedia identified 13 gubernatorial battleground races: nine Democratic-held governorships and four Republican-held governorships . Of these, Democrats gained control of the governor's office in Arizona and Republicans gained control of the governor's office in Nevada.
Click on the links below to learn more about battleground races of other types:
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2024
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2024
- Republican Party battleground primaries, 2024
- Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2024
- Top-two and top-four battleground primaries, 2024
Battleground list
The following map displays all states that held gubernatorial elections in 2024 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, 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Open seat? | 2020 presidential Margin | Margin in previous electionCite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
|
| New Hampshire |  Chris Sununu |
TBD | D+7.3 | R+15.0 |
| North Carolina |  Roy Cooper |
Yes | R+1.3 | D+4.5 |
The previous gubernatorial election took place in 2022 in New Hampshire and in 2020 in North Carolina.
List of candidates
The table below contains a list of all candidates in gubernatorial battlegrounds in 2024. Major party candidates will not appear here until that primary is complete. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republican | Won General | |
 | Democratic | Lost General | |
Libertarian | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Won General | ||
 | Republican | Lost General | |
 | Constitution Party | Lost General | |
Green | Lost General | ||
Libertarian | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Democratic | Won General | |
Republican | Lost General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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 2024 elections.
Presidential election data
- Joe Biden (D) carried New Hampshire by a margin of 7.3%. At the time of the 2024 election, New Hampshire had a Republican governor.
- Donald Trump (R) carried North Carolina by a margin of 1.3%. At the time of the 2024 election, North Carolina had a Democratic governor.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
- Governor (state executive office)
- Gubernatorial elections, 2024
- State executive official elections, 2024
Footnotes
