Impact of term limits on state executive elections in 2019
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Of the 36 state executive offices on the ballot in 2019, 18 of them were represented by incumbents who were subject to term limits. Three of those incumbents were ineligible to run for re-election in 2019 due to term limits. The three incumbents held three different offices: governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state.
Term-limited state executives by state
The map below displays the 36 states that had laws limiting the number of terms state executive officials could serve as of 2019. Of those states, only three—Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi—held elections in 2019. Both Kentucky and Mississippi had at least one official who was termed-out in 2019. Louisiana had no termed-out officials in 2019.
Click on a state below to see the total number of termed-out state executive officials in 2019 as well as a breakdown of which officials were term-limited.
Term-limited state executives by position
The three termed-out incumbents in 2019 held three different offices: governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state. The incumbents who held the offices of governor and lieutenant governor were Republicans, and the incumbent who held the office of secretary of state was a Democrat.
The three termed-out incumbents were from two states. Both states were controlled by Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta exists when one political party holds the governor's office and majority control in both chambers of the state legislature. As of April 2019, there were 22 states with Republican trifectas, 14 states with Democratic trifectas, and four states under divided government.
| 2019 breakdown by position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Number of term-limited officeholders |  Democrats
|
 Republicans
|
 Other
|
| Agriculture Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Attorney General | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Auditor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Board of Education | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Board of Equalization | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Board of Regents | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Comptroller/Controller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Governor | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Insurance Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Labor Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Land Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lieutenant Governor | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Public Service/Regulation Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Secretary of State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Superintendent of Schools | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transportation Commissioner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Treasurer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Differential impact on parties
With name recognition and the ability to tout their experience in the office, incumbents have an advantage over newcomers at the ballot box. Term limits create open seats, which can impact the competitiveness of state executive elections. A total of 36 state executive offices were on the ballot in 2019, and 18 of those offices were subject to term limits. Out of those 18 offices, three featured an open seat since the incumbent was term-limited.
| 2019 term-limited state executive elections | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Trifecta status[1] | Democrats
|
Republicans
|
Other
|
# of seats with term limits | % of seats term-limited in 2019 |
| Kentucky | Republican trifecta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14.3% |
| Louisiana | Divided government | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0.0% |
| Mississippi | Republican trifecta | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 100.0% |
Term-limited elections by state
Kentucky
Seven state executive seats in Kentucky were up for election in 2019. One official was ineligible to run because of term limits.
Louisiana
Fifteen state executive seats in Louisiana were up for election in 2019. No officials were ineligible to run because of term limits.
Mississippi
Fourteen state executive seats in Mississippi were up for election in 2019. Two officials were ineligible to run because of term limits.
- Governor: Phil Bryant (R)
- Lieutenant Governor: Tate Reeves (R)
See also
- State executive official elections, 2019
- State executives with term limits
- Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2019
- Term limits on the ballot
- Term limits in the United States
Footnotes
- ↑ A state's trifecta status was current as of the 2019 election.
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