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State executive official elections, 2029
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State executive offices up for election in 2029 include two gubernatorial seats, two lieutenant gubernatorial seats, and one attorney general seat. Including down-ballot races, there are six state executive offices up for election across three states in 2029.[1]
While this page includes links to pages on state executive elections in the U.S. Territories, it does not include the territories in its statistics.
The offices
State executives act in many capacities according to the powers granted to them by their state's constitution. They are also charged with implementing and enforcing laws made by state legislatures. There are 748 executive seats spread across 13 distinct types of offices in the United States.[2] Of the 13 executive offices, only seven exist in all 50 states: governor, attorney general, superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner and public service commissioner.
Other common offices include lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, controller, auditor and natural resources commissioner.
On the ballot
Click the tabs below to view information about the elections this year. In this section, you will find:
- A list of seats up for election
- A list of candidates running
- Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup Tool
There are two gubernatorial seats up for election in 2029.
Out of all top state executive offices, only the governor and attorney general exist in all 50 states, and only the governor is elected in all 50 states. As the chief executive officer, the governor is among the most powerful figures in state government. Other executive offices ordinarily report to him or her.
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The table below contains a list of all candidates for governor in 2029. 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 completed the Ballotpedia Candidate ConnectionHistorical election data
Ballotpedia covers America's 748 state executive seats across all 50 states. The following sections look at incumbency and partisanship in state executive elections from 2011 to 2024.
Incumbency
From 2011 to 2024, 58.4% of incumbents sought re-election. Of the incumbents who sought re-election during that period, 86% were successful. The first chart below shows the number of incumbents who sought election each year compared to the number of seats up for election. The second chart shows the number of incumbents who were re-elected compared to the number of incumbents who ran for re-election.
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The table below is organized by year and includes the total number of offices up for election, the number and percentage of incumbents who sought re-election, and the number and percentage of incumbents who won another term.
| Year | Total seats | Incumbents who sought re-election |
% incumbents who sought re-election |
Incumbents who were re-elected |
% incumbents who were re-elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 167 | 87 | 52.10% | 74 | 85.10% |
| 2023 | 36 | 19 | 52.80% | 17 | 89.50% |
| 2022 | 305 | 209 | 68.50% | 183 | 87.60% |
| 2021 | 7 | 3 | 42.90% | 2 | 66.70% |
| 2020 | 166 | 106 | 63.90% | 91 | 85.80% |
| 2019 | 36 | 21 | 58.30% | 20 | 95.20% |
| 2018 | 298 | 184 | 61.70% | 149 | 81.00% |
| 2017 | 8 | 3 | 37.50% | 2 | 66.70% |
| 2016 | 93 | 51 | 54.80% | 40 | 78.40% |
| 2015 | 25 | 16 | 64.00% | 15 | 93.80% |
| 2014 | 226 | 152 | 67.30% | 139 | 91.40% |
| 2013 | 6 | 3 | 50.00% | 3 | 100.00% |
| 2012 | 94 | 67 | 71.30% | 59 | 88.10% |
| 2011 | 26 | 19 | 73.10% | 18 | 94.70% |
| Total | 1,493 | 940 | 58.40% | 812 | 86.00% |
Partisanship
The table below details how many state executive seats changed parties from 2011 to 2024. The largest single-year gain by a party was in 2018, when Democrats gained 41 net seats. That year also had the highest number of seats up for election, with 303. The lowest net change was in 2011, when no parties gained or lost any seats. Twenty-six seats were on the ballot that year. The table is organized by year and shows the number of seats held by each party before the election and after the election and the net change each party saw.
| Year | Total seats | Before election | After election | Net change | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | Republicans | Other | Democrats | Republicans | Other | Democrats | Republicans | Other | ||
| 2024 | 167 | 50 | 86 | 31 | 46 | 90 | 31 | -4 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 36 | 7 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 30 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 307 | 125 | 156 | 26 | 124 | 158 | 25 | -1 | 2 | -1 |
| 2021 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | -3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 171 | 59 | 71 | 41 | 56 | 75 | 40 | -3 | 4 | -1 |
| 2019 | 36 | 8 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 29 | 0 | -1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 303 | 81 | 184 | 38 | 122 | 143 | 38 | 41 | -41 | 0 |
| 2017 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 93 | 50 | 39 | 3 | 37 | 53 | 2 | -13 | 14 | -1 |
| 2015 | 25 | 8 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 19 | 0 | -2 | 3 | -1 |
| 2014 | 226 | 79 | 144 | 3 | 67 | 156 | 3 | -12 | 12 | 0 |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| 2012 | 94 | 50 | 38 | 6 | 49 | 42 | 3 | -1 | 4 | -3 |
| 2011 | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Partisan control of governorships
The chart below looks at the number of governorships held by the Democratic and Republican parties between 1977 and 2024. The biggest difference between the number of seats held by Democrats compared to those held by Republicans was in 1977 and 1978, when Democrats held 37 seats and Republicans held 12. The lowest difference between the number of seats held by Democrats compared to those held by Republicans was in 1987, 2003, and 2019. In 1987, Democrats held 26 governorships and Republicans held 24; in both 2003 and 2019, Democrats held 24 governorships and Republicans held 26. Republicans gained one governorship in both the 2020 and 2021 elections. Democrats gained two net governorships in 2022. Republicans gained one net governorship in 2023.
Election coverage by office
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State ballot measures
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Local judges
Municipal government
School boards
Recalls
See also
- Past state executive elections: 2028 • 2027 • 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019
- Past gubernatorial elections: 2029 • 2028 • 2027 • 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020
- Past election analysis: 2029 • 2028 • 2027 • 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020
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.
- ↑ There are 13 state executive offices as Ballotpedia defines the term, however there are other executive offices in some states that are not covered by Ballotpedia.
