Governors and state executives by higher education background

State Executive Analyses

Compensation

Education

Irregular office changes

Place of birth

Term limits

Trifectas and triplexes

Vacancy procedures

Governors

Compensation

Education

Impeachment

Recalls

Residences

Resignations

Term limits

Vacancy procedures

Largest share of the vote

Winning streaks

Other state executives

Compensation - lieutenant governors

Term limits - attorneys general

Term limits - lieutenant governors

Term limits - secretaries of state

As of February 2025, there were 192 officials holding the top four state executive official positions of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state across the country, and their educational attainment is as follows:

• 183 officeholders with a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S.)
• 55 officeholders with a master's degree (M.A., M.S., MBA, etc.)
• 100 officeholders with a J.D.
• 7 officeholders with a Ph.D.
• 1 officeholders with an M.D.
• 6 officeholders with no higher education degree

The six officeholders without a higher education degree in their official biography are Gov. Mike Kehoe (R-Mo.), Gov. Larry Rhoden (R-S.D.), Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser (R-La.), Lt. Gov. Craig Blair (R-W.Va.), Sec. of State Josh Cockroft (R-Okla.), and Sec. of State Monae Johnson (R-S.D.).

The total number of degrees is greater than the number of top four state executive officials because some officials have multiple degrees.

Ballotpedia compiled this data by consulting officeholders' official biographies, campaign websites, resumes included on LinkedIn profiles, and media accounts.

Here is a summary of the educational attainment of these state executive officers:

• 38 have a bachelor's degree (B.A., B.S.)
• 38 have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree (M.A., M.S., MBA, etc.)
• 87 have a bachelor's degree and a law degree (J.D.)
• 10 have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a law degree
• six have no higher education degree
• five have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, and a Ph.D.
• two have a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, a law degree, and a Ph.D.
• one has a bachelor's degree and a Ph.D.
• one has a bachelor's degree and a medical degree (M.D.)
• one has a bachelor's degree and a degree in veterinary medicine (DVM)
• one has a bachelor's degree, a law degree, and a master of laws degree (LLM)

Breakdown of higher education degrees held by current officeholders (as of February 2025)

Office	Bachelor's	Master's	J.D.	Ph.D.	M.D.	None
Governor	48	15	20	1	1	2
Lieutenant Governor	41	13	15	2	0	2
Attorney General	50	8	50	2	0	0
Secretary of State	45	18	16	2	0	2

Most popular schools by degree

Bachelor's

• Harvard University: 6
• Yale University: 5
• Brigham Young University: 5
• University of Vermont: 4
• University of Washington: 3
• Auburn University: 3
• University of Georgia: 3

28 schools have two alumni, the rest have one

Master's

• University of Oxford: 4
• Harvard University: 4
• University of Washington: 3
• Columbia University: 2
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas: 2

All other schools have one alumni

J.D.

• Harvard University: 8
• Stanford University: 3
• University of Chicago: 3
• University of Mississippi: 3
• University of Virginia: 4

10 schools have two alumni; the rest have one

State executive educations by party

Democratic officeholders breakdown

Democratic state executives held the following higher education degrees:

Breakdown of higher education degrees held by current Democratic officeholders (as of February 2025)

Office	Bachelor's	Master's	J.D.	Ph.D.	M.D.	None
Governor	23	10	11	1	1	0
Lieutenant Governor	20	7	8	1	0	0
Attorney General	22	4	22	1	0	0
Secretary of State	21	9	10	1	0	0

The most popular schools for Democratic state executive officials (by degree) were:

Bachelor's

• Harvard University: 5
• Yale University: 4

15 schools have two alumni; the rest have one

Master's

• University of Washington: 4
• Columbia University: 3
• University of Oxford: 3
• Harvard University: 2

All other schools have one alumnus

J.D.

• Harvard University: 4
• Stanford University: 3

Five schools have two alumni; the rest have one

Republican officeholders breakdown

Republican state executives held the following higher education degrees:

Breakdown of higher education degrees held by current Republican officeholders (as of February 2025)

Office	Bachelor's	Master's	J.D.	Ph.D.	M.D.	None
Governor	25	5	9	0	0	2
Lieutenant Governor	21	6	7	1	0	2
Attorney General	28	4	28	1	0	0
Secretary of State	24	9	6	1	0	2

The most popular schools for Republican state executive officials (by degree) were:

Bachelor's

• Brigham Young University: 5
• Auburn University: 3
• University of Georgia: 3

Eight other schools have two alumni; the rest have one

Master's

• University of Nevada, Las Vegas: 2

All other schools have one alumnus

J.D.

• Harvard University: 3
• University of Mississippi: 3

Three schools have two alumni; the rest have one

Governors

Last updated February 7, 2025

Degrees earned by governors

State	Name	Bachelor's	Master's	JD	Ph.D.	MD	Other
Alabama	Kay Ivey	Auburn University
Alaska	Mike Dunleavy	Misericordia University	University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Arizona	Katie Hobbs	Northern Arizona University	Arizona State University
Arkansas	Sarah Huckabee Sanders	Ouachita Baptist University
California	Gavin Newsom	Santa Clara University
Colorado	Jared Polis	Princeton University
Connecticut	Ned Lamont	Harvard University	Yale University
Delaware	Matt Meyer	Brown University		University of Michigan
Florida	Ron DeSantis	Yale University		Harvard Law School
Georgia	Brian Kemp	University of Georgia
Hawaii	Joshua Green	Swarthmore College				Pennsylvania State University
Idaho	Brad Little	University of Idaho
Illinois	J.B. Pritzker	Duke University		Northwestern University
Indiana	Mike Braun	Wabash College	Harvard University
Iowa	Kim Reynolds	Iowa State University
Kansas	Laura Kelly	Bradley University	Indiana University
Kentucky	Andy Beshear	Vanderbilt University		University of Virginia
Louisiana	Jeff Landry	University of Southwestern Louisiana		Loyola University
Maine	Janet Mills	University of Massachusetts		University of Maine
Maryland	Wes Moore	Johns Hopkins University	University of Oxford
Massachusetts	Maura Healey	Harvard University		Northeastern University
Michigan	Gretchen Whitmer	Michigan State University		Michigan State University
Minnesota	Tim Walz	Chadron State College	Minnesota State University
Mississippi	Tate Reeves	Millsaps College
Missouri	Mike Kehoe
Montana	Greg Gianforte	Stevens Institute of Technology	Stevens Institute of Technology
Nebraska	Jim Pillen	University of Nebraska					Kansas State University
Nevada	Joe Lombardo	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	University of Nevada, Las Vegas
New Hampshire	Kelly Ayotte	Pennsylvania State University		Villanova University
New Jersey	Phil Murphy	Harvard University	University of Pennsylvania
New Mexico	Michelle Lujan Grisham	University of New Mexico		University of New Mexico
New York	Kathy Hochul	Syracuse University		Catholic University
North Carolina	Josh Stein	Dartmouth College	Harvard University	Harvard Law School
North Dakota	Kelly Armstrong	University of North Dakota		University of North Dakota
Ohio	Mike DeWine	Miami University of Ohio		Ohio Northern University
Oklahoma	Kevin Stitt	Oklahoma State University
Oregon	Tina Kotek	University of Oregon	University of Washington
Pennsylvania	Josh Shapiro	University of Rochester		Georgetown University
Rhode Island	Dan McKee	Assumption College	Harvard University
South Carolina	Henry McMaster	University of South Carolina		University of South Carolina
South Dakota	Larry Rhoden
Tennessee	Bill Lee	Auburn University
Texas	Greg Abbott	University of Texas, Austin		Vanderbilt University
Utah	Spencer Cox	Utah State University		Washington and Lee University
Vermont	Phil Scott	University of Vermont
Virginia	Glenn Youngkin	Rice University	Harvard University
Washington	Bob Ferguson	University of Washington		New York University
West Virginia	Patrick Morrisey	Rutgers University, New Brunswick		Rutgers University, Newark
Wisconsin	Tony Evers	University of Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin		University of Wisconsin
Wyoming	Mark Gordon	Middlebury College

Lieutenant Governors

Last updated February 7, 2025

Degrees earned by lieutenant governors

State	Name	Bachelor's	Master's	JD	Ph.D.	MD	Other
Alabama	Will Ainsworth	Auburn University
Alaska	Nancy Dahlstrom	Wayland Baptist University	University of LaVerne
Arkansas	Leslie Rutledge	University of Arkansas		University of Arkansas at Little Rock
California	Eleni Kounalakis	Dartmouth College	University of California, Berkeley
Colorado	Dianne Primavera	Regis College	University of Northern Colorado
Connecticut	Susan Bysiewicz	Yale University		Duke University
Delaware	Kyle Evans Gay	Brown University		Boston University
Florida	Jeanette Nuñez	Florida International University	Florida International University
Georgia	Burt Jones	University of Georgia
Hawaii	Sylvia Luke	University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa		University of San Francisco School of Law
Idaho	Scott Bedke	Brigham Young University
Illinois	Juliana Stratton	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign		DePaul University
Indiana	Micah Beckwith	Huntington University
Iowa	Adam Gregg	Central College		Drake University
Kansas	David Toland	University of Kansas	University of Kansas
Kentucky	Jacqueline Coleman	Centre College	University of Louisville
Louisiana	Billy Nungesser
Maryland	Aruna Miller	Missouri University of Science and Technology
Massachusetts	Kim Driscoll	Salem State University		Massachusetts School of Law
Michigan	Garlin Gilchrist II	University of Michigan
Minnesota	Peggy Flanagan	University of Minnesota
Mississippi	Delbert Hosemann	Notre Dame University		University of Mississippi			New York University
Missouri	David Wasinger	University of Missouri		Boston University School of Law
Montana	Kristen Juras	University of Montana		Georgia School of Law
Nebraska	Joe Kelly	University of Nebraska		University of Nebraska College of Law
Nevada	Stavros Anthony	Wayne State University	University of Nevada, Las Vegas		University of Nevada, Las Vegas
New Jersey	Tahesha Way	Brown University		University of Virginia
New Mexico	Howie Morales	Western New Mexico University	Western New Mexico University		New Mexico State University
New York	Antonio Delgado	Colgate University	University of Oxford	Harvard Law School
North Carolina	Rachel Hunt	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill		University of South Carolina School of Law
North Dakota	Michelle Strinden	University of North Dakota	Minnesota State University Moorhead
Ohio	Vacant
Oklahoma	Matt Pinnell	Oral Roberts University
Pennsylvania	Austin Davis	University of Pittsburgh
Rhode Island	Sabina Matos	Rhode Island College
South Carolina	Pamela Evette	Cleveland State University
South Dakota	Tony Venhuizen	South Dakota State University		University of South Dakota School of Law
Tennessee	Randy McNally	Memphis State University	University of Tennessee, Memphis
Texas	Dan Patrick	University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Utah	Deidre Henderson	Brigham Young University
Vermont	John Rodgers						New Hampshire Vocational Technical College
Virginia	Winsome Earle-Sears	Old Dominion University	Regent University
Washington	Denny Heck	Evergreen State College
West Virginia	Craig Blair
Wisconsin	Sara Rodriguez	The Johns Hopkins University Illinois Wesleyan University	The Johns Hopkins University

Attorneys General

Last updated February 7, 2025

Degrees earned by attorneys general

State	Name	Bachelor's	Master's	JD	Ph.D.	MD	Other
Alabama	Steve Marshall	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill		University of Alabama
Alaska	Treg Taylor	Brigham Young University		Brigham Young University
Arizona	Kris Mayes	Arizona State University	Columbia University	Arizona State University
Arkansas	Tim Griffin	Hendrix College	United States Army War College	Tulane University Law School
California	Rob Bonta	Yale University		Yale University
Colorado	Phil Weiser	Swarthmore College		New York University
Connecticut	William Tong	Brown University		University of Chicago
Delaware	Kathy Jennings	University of Delaware		Villanova University
Florida	John Guard	Florida State University		Tulane University Law School
Georgia	Chris Carr	University of Georgia		University of Georgia
Hawaii	Anne Lopez	San José State University		University of Hawaii School of Law
Idaho	Raúl Labrador	Brigham Young University		University of Washington
Illinois	Kwame Raoul	DePaul University		Chicago-Kent College of Law
Indiana	Todd Rokita	Wabash College		Indiana University
Iowa	Brenna Bird	Drake University		University of Chicago Law School
Kansas	Kris Kobach	Harvard University	University of Oxford	Yale Law School	University of Oxford
Kentucky	Russell Coleman	University of Kentucky		University of Kentucky
Louisiana	Liz Murrill	Louisiana State University	Pepperdine University	Louisiana State University
Maine	Aaron Frey	Saint Anselm College		Roger Williams University
Maryland	Anthony Brown	Harvard University		Harvard Law School
Massachusetts	Andrea Joy Campbell	Princeton University		University of California at Los Angeles
Michigan	Dana Nessel	University of Michigan		Wayne State University
Minnesota	Keith Ellison	Wayne State University		University of Minnesota
Mississippi	Lynn Fitch	University of Mississippi		University of Mississippi
Missouri	Andrew Bailey	University of Missouri-Columbia		University of Missouri School of Law
Montana	Austin Knudsen	Montana State University - Bozeman		University of Montana
Nebraska	Mike Hilgers	Baylor University		University of Chicago Law School
Nevada	Aaron D. Ford	Texas A&M University, College Station	George Washington University Ohio State University	Ohio State University	Ohio State University
New Hampshire	John Formella	Florida State University		George Washington University
New Jersey	Matt Platkin	Stanford University		Stanford Law School
New Mexico	Raul Torrez	Harvard University	London School of Economics	Stanford Law School
New York	Letitia James	City University of New York, Lehman	Columbia University	Howard University
North Carolina	Jeff Jackson	Emory University		University of North Carolina School of Law
North Dakota	Drew Wrigley	University of North Dakota		American University
Ohio	Dave Yost	Ohio State University		Capital University
Oklahoma	Gentner Drummond	Oklahoma State University		Georgetown University
Oregon	Dan Rayfield	Western Oregon University		Willamette University College of Law
Pennsylvania	Dave Sunday	Pennsylvania State University		Widener University Commonwealth Law School
Rhode Island	Peter Neronha	Boston College		Boston College
South Carolina	Alan Wilson	Francis Marion University		University of South Carolina
South Dakota	Marty Jackley	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology		University of South Dakota
Tennessee	Jonathan Skrmetti	George Washington University University of Oxford		Harvard Law School
Texas	Ken Paxton	Baylor University	Baylor University	University of Virginia
Utah	Derek Brown	Brigham Young University		Pepperdine University School of Law
Vermont	Charity Clark	University of Vermont		Boston College School of Law
Virginia	Jason Miyares	James Madison University		College of William and Mary
Washington	Nick Brown	Morehouse College		Harvard Law School
West Virginia	John B. McCuskey	George Washington University		West Virginia University College of Law
Wisconsin	Josh Kaul	Yale University		Stanford University
Wyoming	Bridget Hill	University of Wyoming		University of Wyoming

Secretaries of State

Last updated February 7, 2025

Degrees earned by secretaries of state

State	Name	Bachelor's	Master's	JD	Ph.D.	MD	Other
Alabama	Wes Allen	University of Alabama	Troy University
Arizona	Adrian Fontes	Arizona State University		University of Denver College of Law
Arkansas	John Thurston	Agape College
California	Shirley Weber	University of California - Los Angeles	University of California - Los Angeles		University of California - Los Angeles
Colorado	Jena Griswold	Whitman College		University of Pennsylvania
Connecticut	Stephanie Thomas	New York University	New School
Delaware	Jeffrey W. Bullock	University of Delaware
Florida	Cord Byrd	University of North Florida		St. Thomas University
Georgia	Brad Raffensperger	Western University	Georgia State University
Idaho	Phil McGrane	University of Washington	Boise State University	University of Denver College of Law
Illinois	Alexi Giannoulias	Boston University		Tulane University School of Law
Indiana	Diego Morales	Indiana University	Purdue University Tilburg University
Iowa	Paul Pate	Kirkwood Community College
Kansas	Scott Schwab	Fort Hays University
Kentucky	Michael Adams	University of Louisville		Harvard Law School
Louisiana	Nancy Landry	Louisiana State University		Louisiana State University
Maine	Shenna Bellows	Middlebury College
Maryland	Susan Lee	University of Maryland		University of San Francisco School of Law
Massachusetts	William Galvin	Boston College		Suffolk University
Michigan	Jocelyn Benson	Wellesley College	University of Oxford	Harvard Law School
Minnesota	Steve Simon	Tufts University		University of Minnesota
Mississippi	Michael D. Watson Jr.	University of Mississippi		University of Mississippi
Missouri	Denny Hoskins	University of Central Missouri	University of Missouri
Montana	Christi Jacobsen	Carroll College	University of Montana
Nebraska	Bob Evnen	Michigan State University		University of Southern California
Nevada	Cisco Aguilar	University of Arizona	University of Arizona	University of Arizona
New Hampshire	David Scanlan	West Virginia University
New Jersey	Tahesha Way	Brown University		University of Virginia
New Mexico	Maggie Toulouse Oliver	University of New Mexico	University of New Mexico
New York	Robert Rodriguez	Yale University	New York University
North Carolina	Elaine Marshall	University of Maryland, College Park		Campbell University
North Dakota	Michael Howe	North Dakota State University
Ohio	Frank LaRose	Ohio State University
Oklahoma	Josh Cockroft
Oregon	Tobias Read	Willamette University	University of Washington
Pennsylvania	Al Schmidt	Allegheny College			Brandeis University
Rhode Island	Gregg Amore	Providence College	New England College
South Carolina	Mark Hammond	Newberry College	Clemson University
South Dakota	Monae Johnson
Tennessee	Tre Hargett	University of Memphis	University of Memphis
Texas	Jane Nelson	University of North Texas
Vermont	Sarah Copeland Hanzas	University of Vermont
Virginia	Kelly Gee	William & Mary University	Virginia Tech
Washington	Steve Hobbs	University of Washington	University of Washington
West Virginia	Kris Warner	West Virginia University
Wisconsin	Sarah Godlewski	George Mason University
Wyoming	Chuck Gray	University of Pennsylvania

Have information about an official's educational background not yet included on this page? Send us an email and we'll get it added.

See also

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Where did your governor go to school?
• Education policy by state

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