State executive official vacancies, 2026
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As of March 2026, there have been 17 state executive official vacancies in Eight states. The vacancies occurred in the following offices:
- Lieutenant Governor: 0
- Secretary of State: 0
- Attorney General: 1
- Public Service Commissioner/Railroad Commissioner: 2
- Treasurer: 1
- Labor Commissioner: 2
- State Auditor: 0
- Controller: 1
- Superintendent of Public Instruction: 2
- Natural Resources Commissioner/Lands Commissioner: 1
- Agriculture Commissioner: 1
- Board of Education: 0
- Insurance Commissioner: 2
- Secretary of Commerce: 0
- Other: 3
The process for filling vacancies varies by state and office. The most common methods for filling vacancies are through a gubernatorial appointment or legislative appointment. The most common reasons for a state executive vacancy include officeholders resigning, dying, leaving for a new job, being elected or appointed to a different office, or receiving a legal conviction.
- Click here to read more about procedures for filling state executive vacancies.
- Click here to read more about 2026's regular state executive official elections.
The table below details the partisan breakdown for state executive vacancies in 2026. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party held after the appointments took place.
| Partisan breakdown of the vacancies (2026) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of vacancy | After vacancy | |
| Democratic Party | |||
| Republican Party | |||
| Independent | |||
| Nonpartisan | |||
| Total | 15 | 13 | |
The table below details the partisan breakdown for current state executive officials and details how many offices are currently vacant.
| Office |  Democratic |  Republican |  Independent | Nonpartisan | Vacancies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | 24 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lt. Governor | 21 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Attorney General | 22 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Secretary of State | 22 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Treasurer | 12 | 24 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Controller | 6 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Auditor | 7 | 16 | 0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Superintendent of Schools | 1 | 7 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| Insurance Commissioner | 3 | 8 | 0 | 34 | 2 | |
| Agriculture Commissioner | 0 | 12 | 0 | 38 | 1 | |
| Natural Resources Commissioner | 2 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| Labor Commissioner | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| Public Service Commissioner | 8 | 37 | 0 | 154 | 4 |
Current and past vacancies
The table below highlights each instance where a state executive official vacancy triggered a replacement via appointment in 2026. Know of a vacancy that should be covered here? Click here to let us know.
| 2026 state executive official vacancies | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of vacancy | Office | State executive | Party | Reason | Vacancy procedure | Date filled | Successor | February 13, 2026 | Massachusetts Secretary of Education | Patrick Tutwiler | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | February 13, 2026 | Amy Kershaw (acting) |
| February 4, 2026 | New Jersey Commissioner of Education | Kevin Dehmer | Nonpartisan | Appointed to another office | Governor appointment | February 4, 2026 | Lily Laux | ||||||||
| February 2, 2026 | Texas Commissioner of Insurance | Cassie Brown | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | February 2, 2026 | Amanda Crawford | ||||||||
| February 1, 2026 | North Carolina Utilities Commission | Karen Kemerait | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | February 13, 2026 | John Gajda | ||||||||
| January 20, 2026 | New Jersey Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development | Robert Asaro-Angelo | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | February 2, 2026 | Michael Marich"acting" | ||||||||
| January 20, 2026 | New Jersey Treasurer | Elizabeth Maher Muoio | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 20, 2026 | Aaron Binder (nonpartisan) | ||||||||
| January 20, 2026 | Attorney General of New Jersey | Matt Platkin | Democratic | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 20, 2026 | Jennifer Davenport (D) | ||||||||
| January 20, 2026 | New Jersey Commissioner of Banking and Insurance | Justin Zimmerman | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 20, 2026 | Susan Ochs "acting" | ||||||||
| January 16, 2026 | Virginia Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources | Stefanie Taillon | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 17, 2026 | David Bulova | ||||||||
| January 15, 2026 | Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry | Matt Lohr | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 17, 2026 | Katie K. Frazier | ||||||||
| January 18, 2026 | New Jersey Comptroller | Shirley Emehelu | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 20, 2026 | Shirley Emehelu | ||||||||
| January 17, 2026 | Virginia Commissioner of Labor and Industry | Gary Pan | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 20, 2026 | James Frederick | ||||||||
| January 12, 2026 | Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission | James Huston | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | TBD | TBD | ||||||||
| January 9, 2026 | University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 4 | Elizabeth O'Connor | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | February 3, 2026 | Joel Makovicka | ||||||||
| January 1, 2026 | Florida Public Service Commission | Andrew Giles Fay | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 2, 2026 | Ana Ortega (nonpartisan) | ||||||||
| January 1, 2026 | Florida Public Service Commission | Art Graham | Nonpartisan | Resignation | Governor appointment | January 2, 2026 | Bobby Payne (nonpartisan) | ||||||||
Methodology
Ballotpedia counts a seat as vacant if the outgoing officeholder leaves office before their official term-end date or the incoming officeholder takes office after their official term-start date. If an officeholder takes or leaves office according to their official term-start or -end date, Ballotpedia does not count that as a vacant seat.
How are vacancies filled in state executive offices?
The method for filling a state executive official vacancy varies by both the office and state. Select an office tab below to see a map of how each state fills a vacancy and a table that breaks down the different systems used to fill vacancies. Underneath, select a state-specific office to learn more about how it is filled through state law. Please note this page is undergoing updates, and each tab may not contain every component at this time.
Not every state executive office exists in all 50 states, and the name of an office may vary across states where it is found. For example, the state executive office of controller is known as comptroller in several states like Indiana, Maryland, and New Jersey.
State executive official vacancies can be filled through gubernatorial appointments, state legislative appointments, appointments by another office, a type of hybrid system, or in rare circumstances, a special election. We designate a state as having a hybrid system if a vacancy is filled by one or more methods. The method employed in these states is usually dependent on if the state legislature is in session, the amount of time remaining in the vacant executive official's term, or the time until the next general election in that state. Some offices require the appointment to be confirmed by either the state senate or both chambers of the state legislature. This information is denoted on the map for each state.
Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches the constitutional or statutory text that details the process of filling vacancies for a state executive office. For some offices, the map does not list any information on how the vacancy is filled which indicates that after extensive research, we were unable to identify any relevant information on state official websites. If you have any additional information about this office, please email us.
Vacancy fill systems by state
Types of systems used to fill vacancies
Offices
- Governor of Alabama
- Governor of Alaska
- Governor of American Samoa
- Governor of Arizona
- Governor of Arkansas
- Governor of California
- Governor of Colorado
- Governor of Connecticut
- Governor of Delaware
- Governor of Florida
- Governor of Georgia
- Governor of Guam
- Governor of Hawaii
- Governor of Idaho
- Governor of Illinois
- Governor of Indiana
- Governor of Iowa
- Governor of Kansas
- Governor of Kentucky
- Governor of Louisiana
- Governor of Maine
- Governor of Maryland
- Governor of Massachusetts
- Governor of Michigan
- Governor of Minnesota
- Governor of Mississippi
- Governor of Missouri
- Governor of Montana
- Governor of Nebraska
- Governor of Nevada
- Governor of New Hampshire
- Governor of New Jersey
- Governor of New Mexico
- Governor of New York
- Governor of North Carolina
- Governor of North Dakota
- Governor of Ohio
- Governor of Oklahoma
- Governor of Oregon
- Governor of Pennsylvania
- Governor of Puerto Rico
- Governor of Rhode Island
- Governor of South Carolina
- Governor of South Dakota
- Governor of Tennessee
- Governor of Texas
- Governor of Utah
- Governor of Vermont
- Governor of Virginia
- Governor of Washington
- Governor of West Virginia
- Governor of Wisconsin
- Governor of Wyoming
- Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands
- Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands
See also
- Chart of state executive officers
- State executive officials
- State executive offices
- State executive official elections, 2026
- State legislative vacancies, 2026
- State intermediate appellate court vacancies, 2026
- State supreme court vacancies, 2026
- How vacancies are filled in state executive offices
Footnotes
