Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2022

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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:

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.

The gubernatorial elections held in 2022 were in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

In addition, three U.S. territories held lieutenant gubernatorial elections in 2022: Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


Partisan balance

The following chart displays the number of lieutenant gubernatorial offices held by each party as of the 2022 elections and immediately after the elections took place.

U.S. lieutenant governors partisan breakdown
Party As of November 2022 After the 2022 elections
     Democratic Party 19 20 (+1)
     Republican Party 26 25 (-1)
Total 45 45



List of lieutenant gubernatorial elections

There were 15 Republican and 15 Democratic seats up for election in 2022. These statistics do not include elections in the U.S. territories. The table below show which states held lieutenant gubernatorial elections in 2022. Click [show] on the table below to view information about these elections.

Table last updated December 20, 2022.

Incumbents defeated

One incumbent lieutenant governor was defeated in 2022.

Lieutenant gubernatorial incumbents defeated, 2022
State Incumbent Separate election from governor? Winner
Nevada Democratic Party Lisa Cano Yes Republican Party Stavros S. Anthony

Incumbents not seeking re-election

Eleven lieutenant governors did not seek re-election in 2022: four Democrats and seven Republicans.

Lieutenant governors who did not seek re-election, 2022
State Incumbent Separate election from governor? Winner
Alaska Republican Party Kevin Meyer No Republican Party Nancy Dahlstrom
Arkansas Republican Party Tim Griffin Yes Republican Party Leslie Rutledge
Georgia Republican Party Geoff Duncan Yes Republican Party Burt Jones
Hawaii Democratic Party Joshua Green No Democratic Party Sylvia Luke
Idaho Republican Party Janice McGeachin Yes Republican Party Scott Bedke
Maryland Republican Party Boyd Rutherford No Democratic Party Aruna Miller
Massachusetts Republican Party Karyn Polito No Democratic Party Kim Driscoll
Nebraska Republican Party Mike Foley No Republican Party Joe Kelly
Pennsylvania Democratic Party John Fetterman No Democratic Party Austin Davis
Vermont Democratic Party Molly Gray Yes Lime2.png/Democratic Party David Zuckerman
Wisconsin Democratic Party Mandela Barnes No Democratic Party Sara Rodriguez

Historical control

In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 34 lieutenant governorships to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in lieutenant governorships would be maintained until the midterm elections of 1994, which gave the Republican Party control of 23 lieutenant governorships to the Democrats' 21. The midterm elections of 2006 led to the Democratic Party regaining its lead in lieutenant governorships, with 23 to the Republicans' 21. However, the Republican Party regained its lead in the 2008 elections. After that election, lieutenant governorships trended Republican until the 2018 elections, with the party reaching a high of 32 lieutenant governorships to Democrats' 13 in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, Democrats and Republicans each won 15 of the 30 seats up for election, narrowing the gap in seats but keeping the Republican lead in place. In 2019, Democrats gained Kentucky's lieutenant governorship, giving Democrats 21 seats to Republicans' 24. Republicans gained a net one lieutenant governorship each in 2020 and 2021.

Important dates and deadlines

The table below lists important dates throughout the 2022 election cycle, including filing deadlines and primary dates.

Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2022
State Primary date Primary runoff date Filing deadline for primary candidates Source
Alabama 5/24/2022 6/21/2022 1/28/2022
2/11/2022 (congressional)		 Source
Alaska 8/16/2022 N/A 6/1/2022 Source
Arizona 8/2/2022 N/A 4/4/2022 Source
Arkansas 5/24/2022 6/21/2022 3/1/2022 Source
California 6/7/2022 N/A 3/11/2022 Source
Colorado 6/28/2022 N/A 3/15/2022 Source
Connecticut 8/9/2022 N/A 6/7/2022 Source
Delaware 9/13/2022 N/A 7/12/2022 Source
Florida 8/23/2022 N/A 6/17/2022 Source
Georgia 5/24/2022 6/21/2022 3/11/2022 Source
Hawaii 8/13/2022 N/A 6/7/2022 Source
Idaho 5/17/2022 N/A 3/11/2022 Source
Illinois 6/28/2022 N/A 3/14/2022 Source
Indiana 5/3/2022 N/A 2/4/2022 Source
Iowa 6/7/2022 N/A 3/18/2022 Source
Kansas 8/2/2022 N/A 6/1/2022 Source
Kentucky 5/17/2022 N/A 1/25/2022 Source
Louisiana 11/8/2022 N/A 7/22/2022[2] Source
Maine 6/14/2022 N/A 3/15/2022 Source
Maryland 7/19/2022 N/A 4/15/2022 Source
Massachusetts 9/6/2022 N/A 5/31/2022
6/7/2022 (Congress and statewide office)		 Source
Michigan 8/2/2022 N/A 4/19/2022 Source
Minnesota 8/9/2022 N/A 5/31/2022 Source
Mississippi 6/7/2022 6/28/2022 3/1/2022 Source
Missouri 8/2/2022 N/A 3/29/2022 Source
Montana 6/7/2022 N/A 3/14/2022 Source
Nebraska 5/10/2022 N/A 2/15/2022 Source
Nevada 6/14/2022 N/A 3/18/2022 Source
New Hampshire 9/13/2022 N/A 6/10/2022 Source
New Jersey 6/7/2022 N/A 4/4/2022 Source
New Mexico 6/7/2022 N/A 3/24/2022 Source
New York 6/28/2022; 8/23/2022 (congressional and state senate only) N/A 4/7/2022; 6/10/2022 (congressional and state senate only) Source
North Carolina 5/17/2022 7/5/2022 (if no federal office is involved); 7/26/2022 (if a federal office is involved) 3/4/2022 Source
North Dakota 6/14/2022 N/A 4/11/2022 Source
Ohio 5/3/2022 (Congress and statewide offices)
8/2/2022 (state legislative offices)		 N/A 2/2/2022 (U.S. House candidates: 3/4/2022) Source
Oklahoma 6/28/2022 8/23/2022 4/15/2022 Source
Oregon 5/17/2022 N/A 3/8/2022 Source
Pennsylvania 5/17/2022 N/A 3/15/2022 (Congress and statewide offices only)
3/28/2022 (state legislative candidates)		 Source
Source
Rhode Island 9/13/2022 N/A 7/15/2022 Source
South Carolina 6/14/2022 6/28/2022 3/30/2022 Source
South Dakota 6/7/2022 N/A 3/29/2022 Source
Tennessee 8/4/2022 N/A 4/7/2022 Source
Texas 3/1/2022 5/24/2022 12/13/2021 Source
Utah 6/28/2022 N/A 3/4/2022 Source
Vermont 8/9/2022 N/A 5/26/2022 Source
Virginia[3] 6/21/2022 N/A 4/7/2022 Source
Washington 8/2/2022 N/A 5/20/2022 Source
West Virginia 5/10/2022 N/A 1/29/2022 Source
Wisconsin 8/9/2022 N/A 6/1/2022 Source
Wyoming 8/16/2022 N/A 5/27/2022


The table below lists changes made to election dates and deadlines in the 2022 election cycle. Items are listed in reverse chronological order by date of change, with the most recent change appearing first.

Record of date and deadline changes, 2022
State Date of change Description of change Source
Louisiana 6/6/2022 A federal district court, in striking down the state's congressional redistricting plan, postponed the deadline for candidates qualifying by petition in lieu of paying the filing fee from June 22, 2022, to July 8, 2022. The court's order did not affect the July 22, 2022, deadline for candidates qualifying by paying the filing fee. Source
Ohio 5/28/2022 Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) called for the state legislative primary to be held on August 2, 2022 (the primary was originally scheduled for May 3, 2022). Source
New York 5/10/2022 A federal district court judge affirmed the decision of a state-level judge to postpone the primaries for congressional and state senate offices to August 23, 2022 (the primary was originally scheduled for June 28, 2022). The state court then issued an order establishing new candidate filing deadlines. Source; Source
Pennsylvania 3/16/2022 The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania fixed March 28, 2022, as the filing deadline for General Assembly candidates. Source
Maryland 3/15/2022 The Maryland Court of Appeals postponed the primary election from June 28, 2022, to July 19, 2022. The court also extended the filing deadline from March 22, 2022, to April 15, 2022. Source
Massachusetts 2/14/2022 Governor Charlie Baker (R) signed a bill into law that rescheduled the state's primary election from September 20, 2022, to September 6, 2022. Source
Ohio 5/28/2022 Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R), in response to a federal court order, directed that the primary for state legislative offices be held on August 2, 2022. Source
Utah 2/14/2022 Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed SB170 into law, moving the candidate filing deadline to March 4, 2022. The original filing deadline was set for March 11, 2022. Source
Maryland 2/11/2022 The Maryland Court of Appeals extended the candidate filing deadline from February 22, 2022, to March 22, 2022. Source
Pennsylvania 2/9/2022 The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended the candidate filing period for the primary election, pending resolution of a redistricting dispute. The original filing deadline was set for March 8, 2022. The court later fixed March 15, 2022, as the filing deadline for statewide offices and the U.S. Congress. Source
Alabama 1/24/2022 The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama postponed the filing deadline for primary congressional candidates from January 28, 2022, to February 11, 2022. Source
Kentucky 1/6/2022 Governor Andy Beshear (D) signed HB172 into law, extending the filing deadline for partisan candidates from January 7, 2022, to January 25, 2022. Source
North Carolina 12/8/2021 The Supreme Court of North Carolina ordered the postponement of the statewide primary, originally scheduled for March 8, 2022, to May 17, 2022. The court also suspended candidate filing, which subsequently resumed on February 24, 2022, and concluded on March 4, 2022. Source
North Carolina 2/9/2022 The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced that candidate filing, having been suspended by the state supreme court in December 2021, would resume on February 24, 2022, and conclude on March 4, 2022. Source

About the office

See also: Lieutenant Governor (state executive office)


Selection process

In 26 states, the lieutenant governor is selected on a ticket with the governor, meaning that lieutenant gubernatorial candidates serve as running mates to gubernatorial candidates, with the winning gubernatorial candidate's running mate becoming lieutenant governor. In eight of these states, there are separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winning candidate in each primary appearing on the general election ticket. In the remaining 18 states, gubernatorial candidates may pick their own running mates in a similar fashion to presidential candidates. In 17 states, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the title of lieutenant governor is given to the president of the state Senate.[4]

  • Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary and elected in separate general election (17): Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
  • Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary but runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in general election (7): Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
  • Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial candidate before primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial candidate in both the primary and general election (9): Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah
  • Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial nominee after primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in the general election (10): Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota
  • Lt. gov. is a member of the legislature (2): Tennessee, West Virginia
  • Lt. gov. office does not exist in state (5): Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wyoming


Partisan affiliation

There are currently a total of 30 Republican lieutenant governors and 14 Democratic lieutenant governors, including David Zuckerman of Vermont, whose primary affiliation is with the Vermont Progressive Party. The position of lieutenant governor of Alabama is vacant following Kay Ivey's (R) promotion to the governorship in April 2017.

Compensation

According to compensation figures for 2017 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a lieutenant governor is $162,673 in Pennsylvania while the lowest is $9,612 in Texas. To view the compensation of a specific lieutenant governor, hover your mouse over the state.[5]

Legislative powers

In 27 states, the lieutenant governor is involved with the legislative process as the presiding officer of the state Senate. In 24 of those states, the lieutenant governor also has the power to cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate, although some states limit this ability to votes on specific issues.[6]

Gubernatorial delegation

In 24 states, the governor may formally transfer a portion of their power to the lieutenant governor.[6]

Acting governor

In 29 states, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor while the governor is out of the state; three of these states place limits on this role.[6]

Term limits

To view term limits for a particular state, hover your mouse over that state.

Analysis of state elections

In 2022, 44 states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for 88 of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers, 36 gubernatorial offices, and 32 state supreme court seats.

State legislative elections

State Houses-Tile image.png
See also: State legislative elections, 2022

On November 8, 2022, members in 88 of the country's 99 state legislative chambers were up for election across 46 states. These elections were for 6,278 of the country's 7,383 state legislative seats (85%).

Heading into the election, Democrats controlled 36 chambers and Republicans controlled 62. A bipartisan coalition controlled the Alaska House.

As a result of the election:

  • Democrats gained control of four chambers—the Michigan House and Senate, Minnesota Senate, and Pennsylvania House—bringing their total to 40.[7] Wins in Minnesota and Michigan created new Democratic trifectas in those states. Both had previously been divided governments.
  • In Alaska, a bipartisan coalition gained control of the Senate. The coalition in the House changed from being made primarily of Democrats and independents to one made primarily of Republicans.
  • Republicans lost control of five chambers, bringing their total to 57.

Featured analysis

  • State legislative seats that changed party control in 2022: As a result of the Nov. 8, 2022, elections, partisan composition of all 7,386 state legislative seats changed by less than half a percentage point. Democrats had a net loss of six seats, representing 0.1% of all state legislative seats. Republicans had a net gain of 28 seats, representing 0.4% of all state legislative seats.[8] Independents and minor party officeholders had a net loss of 20 seats, representing 0.2% of all state legislative seats.
  • Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 12, 2022: Competitiveness refers to the presence of choice throughout the election cycle. A greater level of competitiveness means voters have the ability to make more decisions. A lower level of competitiveness equals fewer choices. State legislative competitiveness in 2022 reached its highest level compared to all even-year election cycles since 2010. In 2022, the nationwide State Legislative Competitiveness Index is 36.2, beating out 2018 (36.1) and the 2012 post-redistricting cycle (35.2).

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State executive elections

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See also: State executive official elections, 2022

State executive offices up for election in 2022 included 36 gubernatorial seats, 30 lieutenant gubernatorial seats, 30 attorney general seats, and 27 secretary of state seats. Including down-ballot races, there were 307 state executive seats up for election across 44 states in 2022.[9]

Of the 36 that held elections for governor, four offices changed party hands. Partisan control changed from Republican to Democratic in Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Partisan control changed from Democratic to Republican in Nevada, where incumbent Governor Steve Sisolak (D) was the only incumbent governor to lose re-election in 2022.

The partisan control of three lieutenant governors' offices changed. The office switched from Democrat to Republican in Nevada and from Republican to Democrat in Maryland and Massachusetts.

The partisan control of two secretary of State offices changed from Republican to Democrat.

In three states—Arizona, Iowa, and Vermont—the office of attorney general changed party control, resulting in a net gain of one office for Democrats and a net loss of one office for Republicans.

Featured analysis

  • Trifecta vulnerability in the 2022 elections: Thirteen state government trifectas were vulnerable in the 2022 elections, according to Ballotpedia's annual trifecta vulnerability ratings. Democrats defended seven vulnerable trifectas and Republicans defended six. A state government trifecta occurs when one party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. At the time of the 2022 elections, there were 37 state government trifectas: 23 Republican trifectas and 14 Democratic trifectas. The remaining 13 states had a divided government where neither party had a trifecta.
  • State government triplexes: Heading into the November 8 elections, there were 23 Republican triplexes, 18 Democratic triplexes, and 9 divided governments where neither party held triplex control. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.[10] In states where the attorney general or secretary of state are appointed by the governor, Ballotpedia considers the office to be held by the governor's party for the purposes of defining triplexes.[11]
  • Annual State Executive Competitiveness Report: Ballotpedia's 2022 study of competitiveness in state executive official elections found that 37.1% of incumbents did not seek re-election, leaving those offices open. This was higher than in 2020 (35.6%) and 2014 (32.7%) but lower than in 2018 (38.6%) and 2016 (45.2%). The decade average for open offices was 37.8%.

More related articles

State judicial elections

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See also: State judicial elections, 2022

A total of 382 appellate court seats were up for election in 2022. This included 84 supreme court seats and 298 intermediate appellate court seats.

In addition, in the U.S. Territories, the Northern Mariana Islands held retention elections for two judges on the Northern Mariana Islands Superior Court in 2022.

Ballotpedia provided coverage of supreme court and intermediate appellate court elections, as well as local trial court elections for judges within the 100 largest cities in the United States as measured by population.

Featured analysis

  • Partisanship of state supreme court judges: In June 2020, Ballotpedia conducted a study into the partisanship of state supreme court justices. The study placed each justice into one of five categories indicating confidence in their affiliations with either the Democratic or Republican Parties. These categories were Strong Democratic, Mild Democratic, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.

More related articles


See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 2020 election for Vermont.
  2. ↑ A federal district court, in striking down the state's congressional redistricting plan, postponed the deadline for candidates qualifying by petition in lieu of paying the filing fee from June 22, 2022, to July 8, 2022. The court's order did not affect the July 22, 2022, deadline for candidates qualifying by paying the filing fee.
  3. ↑ In Virginia, the Democratic and Republican parties form committees to decide on the method of nomination used for congressional races. These non-primary methods of nomination may take place on a date other than the statewide primary.
  4. ↑ National Lieutenant Governors Association, "Methods of Election," accessed August 27, 2025
  5. ↑ Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2017 - Selected State Administrative Officials: Annual Salaries," accessed October 22, 2017
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2017 - Lieutenant Governors: Powers and Duties," accessed December 3, 2017
  7. ↑ In the Pennsylvania House, Democrats won 102 seats but would enter the legislative session with 99 members due to three vacancies: one due to the death of an incumbent and the others due to resignations to assume higher office. Vacancies are filled by special elections. According to CNalysis, all three vacant districts voted for President Joe Biden (D) by margins of more than 15 percentage points in 2020: Learn more here.
  8. ↑ This total includes three seats created in Wyoming during the 2020 redistricting process, which affects the net changes before and after the Nov. 8 elections.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Ballotpedia chose to highlight these offices because they are typically the most visible positions in states and serve important administrative functions.
  11. ↑ This is because it is very uncommon for an attorney general or secretary of state appointed by a governor to often be in direct conflict with that governor.
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