11 governorships at stake in the November elections

While all attention is focused on the race for the White House, in the swing states, the tension has intensified.  

With 11 governorships up for grabs in November, the spotlight isn’t just on the race for the White House—there's a lot happening in swing states too, and the tension is real.  

These elections will be held in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and  West Virginia.  Right now, there are 27 Republican governors and 23 Democratic governors across the country. In states with gubernatorial elections this year, eight have Republican governors, and three have a Democratic governor.  

In two states that will elect their governor in 2024, New Hampshire and North Carolina, there is no clear front-runner, so anyone could win. Both New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) are not running for re-election in 2024. The other nine states holding gubernatorial elections are rated as solid or safe for one party or the other.  

Back in 2020, when of these states last held their gubernatorial elections, nine of 11 races were won by incumbents. In Utah, Spencer Cox (R) took over from Republican, Gary Herbert, who did not run for re-election. Montana saw Greg Gianforte (R) win flipping the state’s governorship from Democratic to Republican, as the incumbent, Steve Bullock (D), was term limited.  
 

For a bit of context, 36 states had gubernatorial elections in 2022, and the results split right down the middle—18 wins for each party.  Before these elections, Republicans held 20 of these governorships, and Democrats held 16.  

In 2020, when the last gubernatorial elections were held for most of these offices, incumbents won nine of the eleven races. Spencer Cox (R) won in Utah, where Republican incumbent Gary Herbert (R) did not run for re-election.  

Greg Gianforte (R) won in Montana, where incumbent Governor Steve Bullock (D) was term-limited, making Montana's governorship the only one to change party control in 2020.  

Four (4) offices changed parties. 

Four states saw a big shift in party control, leading to changes in how their state government was run. Maryland and Massachusetts went from a divided government to a Democratic trifecta, meaning Democrats now control the governor’s office and both legislative houses. Arizona, which used to have a Republican trifecta, is now divided, and Nevada moved from a Democratic trifecta to divided government too. A “State government trifecta” happens when one political party controls the governor’s office and the majority in both the State Senate and House.   

The triplex states of Arizona, Maryland and Massachusetts switched from divided government to Democratic triplexes. A “State government triplex” is when one political party holds three key offices: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.  

Sisolak was the only incumbent defeated in 2022. Twenty-seven incumbents were re-elected: 12 Democrats and 15 Republicans. Five open elections were called for newly elected governors from the same party as their predecessor, and three open elections were called for governors elected from a different party than their predecessor