2022 United States gubernatorial elections

November 8, 2022
39 governorships 36 states; 3 territories
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 28 22 Seats after 26 24 Seat change 2 2 Popular vote 43,126,140 43,336,108 Percentage 49.05% 49.29% Seats up 20 16 Seats won 18 18
Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Independent gain      No election

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in 2018 U.S. gubernatorial elections.^{[lower-alpha 1]} The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.

Democrats performed better than expected,^{[lower-alpha 2]} including in closely-watched races in Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and the party picked up the governorships of Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Republicans picked up the governorship of Nevada, making incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak the only incumbent to lose his seat, the first Democrat since the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election, and the first of any party since the 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election.

This is the first midterm cycle since 1998 in which the non-incumbent party suffered net losses, the first since 1986 in which the incumbent party gained seats overall, and the first since 1934 in which Democrats did so.^[1] Democrats won the popular vote in this gubernatorial election cycle by 0.24 points, making this the closest midterm gubernatorial election cycle since at least 1990.^[2] However, the 2019 off-year elections were won by Democrats with a smaller margin of 0.01 points.

Partisan composition

Going into the election, there were 28 Republican governors and 22 Democratic governors in the United States. This class of governors is made up of 20 Republicans and 16 Democrats. In contrast to 2018, where Republicans were defending eight seats in states won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Republicans held six seats in states won by Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile, Democrats were defending four governorships in states Trump had previously won (Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin in 2016, and Kansas in 2016 and 2020).

Election predictions

Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each state, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.

Most election predictors use:

• "tossup": no advantage
• "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
• "lean": slight advantage
• "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
• "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

Race summary

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

1. Arizona, 0.66%

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Nevada, 1.51%
2. Kansas, 2.21%
3. Wisconsin, 3.40%
4. Oregon, 3.42%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. New Mexico, 6.38%
2. New York, 6.40%
3. Georgia, 7.54%
4. Minnesota, 7.67%
5. Northern Mariana Islands, 8.28%

Blue denotes races won by Democrats. Red denotes races won by Republicans. Grey denotes races won by Independents.

Alabama

Alabama gubernatorial election

November 8, 2022
Turnout	38.5%
Nominee Kay Ivey Yolanda Flowers Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 946,932 412,961 Percentage 66.9% 29.2%
County results Ivey:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Flowers:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election Kay Ivey Republican Elected Governor Kay Ivey Republican

Incumbent Republican governor Kay Ivey took office on April 10, 2017, upon the resignation of former governor Robert J. Bentley, and was elected to a full term in 2018. She ran for re-election to a second full term in which she won her re-election bid in a landslide.^[19]

Primary elections in Alabama were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate received 50% plus one vote were scheduled for June 21. A runoff was avoided in the Republican primary, with Ivey winning outright. The Democratic primary advanced to a runoff between Malika Sanders-Fortier and Yolanda Flowers, with Flowers winning the Democratic nomination.

This was the first gubernatorial election in Alabama history in which both major party nominees were women. Flowers was also the first Black female gubernatorial nominee in Alabama.^[20] Governor Ivey was re-elected and sworn in for her second full term on January 16, 2023.

This is the only gubernatorial election in the 2020s to be won by a member of the Silent Generation.

Alaska

Alaska gubernatorial election

Candidate Mike Dunleavy Les Gara Bill Walker Party Republican Democratic Independent Running mate Nancy Dahlstrom Jessica Cook Heidi Drygas Popular vote 132,632 63,851 54,668 Percentage 50.3% 24.2% 20.7%

State House district results

Governor before election Mike Dunleavy Republican Elected Governor Mike Dunleavy Republican

Incumbent Republican governor Mike Dunleavy won re-election to a second term, becoming the first Republican governor to be re-elected to a second term since Jay Hammond in 1978 and the first governor, regardless of political affiliation, to be re-elected to a second term since Tony Knowles in 1998.

Arizona

Arizona gubernatorial election

Nominee Katie Hobbs Kari Lake Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,287,891 1,270,774 Percentage 50.3% 49.7%

County results Hobbs:      50–60%      60–70% Lake:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Doug Ducey Republican Elected Governor Katie Hobbs Democratic

Incumbent Republican governor Doug Ducey was term-limited and ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs won the election against Republican former television anchor Kari Lake.^[27]

Primaries were held on August 2 for both parties, with Lake winning the Republican nomination and Hobbs winning the Democratic nomination, making this the first gubernatorial election in Arizona history in which both major party candidates for governor were women. Hobbs became the fifth female governor of Arizona, with Arizona setting a record for the most female governors in American history.^[28][29] With the concurrent passage of Proposition 131, this will be the last gubernatorial election in Arizona without a lieutenant governor on the ticket.^[30]

Going into the election, most polling had Lake leading and analysts generally considered the race to either be a tossup or leaning towards the Republican. Nonetheless, Hobbs ultimately defeated Lake with 50.32% of the vote, becoming the first Democrat elected governor of Arizona since Janet Napolitano in 2006. Lake refused to concede and filed a post-election lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the results, with all her claims either being dismissed or ruled against for lack of evidence.^[31]

This race was one of six Republican-held governorships up for election in 2022 taking place in a state that was carried by Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. With a margin of 0.67%, it was the closest election of the 2022 gubernatorial election cycle.

Arkansas

Arkansas gubernatorial election

Nominee Sarah Huckabee Sanders Chris Jones Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 571,105 319,242 Percentage 63.0% 35.2%

County results Sanders:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Jones:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Asa Hutchinson Republican Elected Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Republican

Incumbent Republican governor Asa Hutchinson was term-limited and could not seek a third term. Arkansas is one of the nine states and one territory of the United States that limit governors to two terms for life in their constitutions, along with California, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Oklahoma. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was sworn in on January 10, 2023.^[34][35]

Primary elections in Arkansas were held on May 24. Runoff elections for instances where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote were scheduled for June 21. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders won the Republican nomination, while Chris Jones won the Democratic nomination.^[36]

Leading up to the Republican primary, Sanders received many endorsements from key Republican figures, including Donald Trump, Mike Pence, incumbent Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas' entire U.S. Congressional delegation, and dozens of GOP representatives from the State House and State Senate. She cruised to a landslide victory in the primary, and as Arkansas is a GOP stronghold, her victory virtually guaranteed she would win the general election, in which she defeated Jones by 28 points. Jones became the first Democrat to win Washington County since 2010, and Sanders became the first Republican to win majority-Black Crittenden County since her father in 1998. This is the first time ever that a Republican won three straight gubernatorial elections in the state's history.

Sanders became the first female governor of Arkansas, as well as the first daughter of a former governor to take office in United States history. In addition, with the election of Leslie Rutledge as lieutenant governor, Arkansas, along with Massachusetts, became the first two U.S. states to have both a female governor and female lieutenant governor serving at the same time.

California

California gubernatorial election

Candidate Gavin Newsom Brian Dahle Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 6,470,104 4,462,914 Percentage 59.2% 40.8%

County results Newsom:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Dahle:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Gavin Newsom Democratic Elected Governor Gavin Newsom Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom ran and won re-election to a second term after surviving a recall election in 2021, during his first term.^[38]

The elections featured universal mail-in ballots; in-person voting was also available.^[39] All statewide elected offices are currently held by Democrats. Newsom won 61.9% of the vote in both the 2018 gubernatorial election and the 2021 recall election. He received 55.9% of the top-two primary vote and faced Republican Party state senator Brian Dahle, who received 17.7% of the primary vote, in the general election.^[40] Newsom easily won re-election with 59.2% of the vote to Dahle's 40.8%, but with a smaller margin of victory than in 2018. Dahle flipped five counties that Newsom carried in 2018, namely Lake, Merced (although Merced voted to recall Newsom), Orange, San Bernardino, and San Joaquin. Dahle received 32% of the vote in Los Angeles County, a respectable performance for a Republican in the Democratic stronghold.

Colorado

Colorado gubernatorial election

Nominee Jared Polis Heidi Ganahl Party Democratic Republican Running mate Dianne Primavera Danny Moore Popular vote 1,468,481 983,040 Percentage 58.5% 39.2%

County results Polis:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Ganahl:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Jared Polis Democratic Elected Governor Jared Polis Democratic

Incumbent Democratic governor Jared Polis won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican University of Colorado regent Heidi Ganahl. The primary election was held on June 28.^[44]

Polis's 2022 victory marked the first time in American history that an openly gay politician was re-elected governor of a state.^[45] Polis had the best performance for a re-elected Colorado governor since Bill Owens in 2002, the best for a Democrat since Roy Romer in 1990, and the highest raw vote total ever in a Colorado gubernatorial race.

Connecticut

Connecticut gubernatorial election

Nominee Ned Lamont Bob Stefanowski Party Democratic Republican Running mate Susan Bysiewicz Laura Devlin Popular vote 709,482 546,209 Percentage 56.0% 43.1%

County results Lamont:      50–60% Stefanowski:      50–60%

Governor before election Ned Lamont Democratic Elected Governor Ned Lamont Democratic

Governor Ned Lamont was elected in 2018 with 49.4% of the vote and ran for re-election for a second term. The race simultaneously took place with the election to the state's Class III Senate seat. This election featured a rematch of the previous 2018 gubernatorial election, pitting Lamont against Republican Bob Stefanowski, who he previously defeated by 3.2% of the vote.^[48] This time Lamont won re-election by a wider margin, becoming the first Democrat to win a gubernatorial election by more than 5 points in the state since 1986. This is the first time since 1994 that Tolland County voted Democratic in a gubernatorial election.

Florida

Florida gubernatorial election

Nominee Ron DeSantis Charlie Crist Party Republican Democratic Running mate Jeanette Nuñez Karla Hernandez-Mats Popular vote 4,614,210 3,106,313 Percentage 59.4% 40.0%

County results DeSantis:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Crist:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Ron DeSantis Republican Elected Governor Ron DeSantis Republican

Governor Ron DeSantis was elected in 2018 with 49.6% of the vote and ran for reelection to a second term.^[51] Andrew Gillum, former mayor of Tallahassee and Democratic nominee for governor in 2018, did not run against DeSantis again.^[52][53]

U.S. representative and former Republican governor of Florida Charlie Crist was the Democratic nominee.^[54] Also seeking the Democratic nomination was Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.^[55]

DeSantis won re-election by a sizable margin due to the state as a whole swinging further Republican than it voted in the 2020 United States presidential election and continuing the state's rightward shift since the 2008 United States presidential election. County flips by DeSantis were Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, and Osceola counties, all of which were previous Democratic Party strongholds; these counties, notably, have relatively high Latino populations, for which their growth in support for the Republican Party was further cemented.^[56][57] This election was seen by many to more firmly assert Florida's status as a red state and not a swing state.^[58][57]

Georgia

Georgia gubernatorial election

Nominee Brian Kemp Stacey Abrams Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,111,572 1,813,673 Percentage 53.4% 45.9%

County results Kemp:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90% Abrams:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Brian Kemp Republican Elected Governor Brian Kemp Republican

Incumbent Republican governor Brian Kemp won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams in a rematch. Abrams conceded on election night.^[62] The primary occurred on May 24, 2022.^[63] Kemp was sworn in for a second term on January 12, 2023.

Kemp was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence. He faced a primary challenge from former U.S. Senator David Perdue, who was endorsed by former president Donald Trump after Kemp refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.^[64]

Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and founder of Fair Fight Action who was narrowly defeated by Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election, was once again the Democratic nominee for the governorship. This was Georgia's first gubernatorial rematch since 1950.^[65]

Libertarian Shane T. Hazel, the Libertarian nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, also declared he would run.^[66] This race was one of six Republican-held governorships up for election in 2022 in a state carried by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

^[67]

Despite Kemp's narrow 55,000-vote victory in 2018, which was Georgia's closest gubernatorial election since 1966, he went on to win by 300,000 votes (7.5%) – the largest raw vote victory for a Georgia governor since 2006. The race was seen as a potential benefit to Herschel Walker, who ran in the concurrent Senate race, as it was speculated Kemp's strong performance could help Walker avoid a runoff. He vastly underperformed compared to Kemp, however, and lost to incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock in the December 6 runoff election.^[68]

Hawaii

Hawaii gubernatorial election

Nominee Josh Green Duke Aiona Party Democratic Republican Running mate Sylvia Luke Seaula Tupa'i Jr. Popular vote 261,025 152,237 Percentage 63.2% 36.8%

County results Green:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election David Ige Democratic Elected Governor Josh Green Democratic

Incumbent Democratic governor David Ige was term-limited and ineligible to run for a third term. Incumbent lieutenant governor Josh Green was the Democratic nominee, and faced former lieutenant governor Duke Aiona, the Republican nominee. This marked the third time Aiona had been the Republican gubernatorial nominee, having previously run unsuccessfully in 2010 and 2014. Green won the election with 63.2% of the vote with Aiona receiving 36.8% of the vote.^[71][72]

Green's performance was the highest percentage of the vote ever received by any gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. Despite this, Aiona performed 3 points better and received 20,000 more raw votes than Andria Tupola did in 2018.

Idaho

Idaho gubernatorial election

Nominee Brad Little Stephen Heidt Ammon Bundy Party Republican Democratic Independent Popular vote 358,598 120,160 101,835 Percentage 60.5% 20.3% 17.2%

County results Little:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Heidt:      50–60%

Governor before election Brad Little Republican Elected Governor Brad Little Republican

Governor Brad Little was elected in 2018 with 59.8% of the vote and ran for re-election to a second term. Little won his re-election bid by a landslide, defeating his Democratic challenger Stephen Heidt.

Incumbent lieutenant governor Janice McGeachin announced a primary challenge to Little, but Little won the Republican primary.^[75] Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy also announced a run for the Republican nomination, but switched to an independent on February 17, 2022.^[76]

The Democratic nominee is Stephen Heidt.^[77]

Illinois

Illinois gubernatorial election

Nominee J. B. Pritzker Darren Bailey Party Democratic Republican Running mate Juliana Stratton Stephanie Trussell Popular vote 2,253,748 1,739,095 Percentage 54.9% 42.4%

County results Pritzker:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bailey:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election J. B. Pritzker Democratic Elected Governor J. B. Pritzker Democratic

Governor J. B. Pritzker was elected in 2018 with 54.5% of the vote and ran for a second term.^[80] In the general election, Pritzker won re-election with 54.9% of the vote.

Republican candidates who announced their candidacy included Richard Irvin, Darren Bailey, Gary Rabine, Paul Schimpf, and Jesse Sullivan. Bailey won the primary on June 28.^[81]

Iowa

Iowa gubernatorial election

Nominee Kim Reynolds Deidre DeJear Party Republican Democratic Running mate Adam Gregg Eric Van Lancker Popular vote 709,198 482,950 Percentage 58.0% 39.5%

County results Reynolds:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% DeJear:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Kim Reynolds Republican Elected Governor Kim Reynolds Republican

Governor Kim Reynolds took office on May 24, 2017, upon the resignation of Terry Branstad and was elected to a full term in her own right in 2018 with 50.3% of the vote. She ran for re-election to a second full term.^[86] In the general election, incumbent Republican governor Kim Reynolds won re-election in a landslide, defeating Democratic nominee Deidre DeJear.

Democrat Deidre DeJear, who announced her candidacy in August 2021,^[87] was the Democratic nominee.^[88]

Kansas

Kansas gubernatorial election

Nominee Laura Kelly Derek Schmidt Party Democratic Republican Running mate David Toland Katie Sawyer Popular vote 499,849 477,591 Percentage 49.5% 47.3%

County results Kelly:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Schmidt:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%

Governor before election Laura Kelly Democratic Elected Governor Laura Kelly Democratic

Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, was elected in 2018 with 48% of the vote and ran running for re-election to a second term.^[91] On the Republican side, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt ran against her.^[92]

Kelly narrowly won re-election, defeating Schmidt by 49.4% of the vote to 47.4% and by a margin of 20,614 votes in a minor upset.

Laura Kelly won the election by a margin of 2.2 percentage points over Derek Schmidt, similar to the percentage of votes that independent Dennis Pyle received. Kansas Republican Party Chair Mike Kuckelman pointed to this as evidence that Pyle was somewhat responsible for Schmidt's defeat. However, Pyle insisted that "Kansas needed a strong conservative candidate" and instead highlighted Schmidt's underperformance compared to other Republican candidates in Kansas.^[93]

Kelly's personal popularity was also a factor in her victory, where a majority of voters approved of Kelly's job performance, while only a third did so for President Joe Biden.^[94][95] Her win was also propelled by Democratic candidates' increased strength in suburban areas, such as Johnson County, in spite of Schmidt's increased vote share from 2018 in the Republican strongholds of rural Kansas.^[96]

Maine

Maine gubernatorial election

Nominee Janet Mills Paul LePage Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 376,934 287,304 Percentage 55.7% 42.4%

County results Mills:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% LePage:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Janet Mills Democratic Elected Governor Janet Mills Democratic

Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, was first elected in 2018 with 50.9% of the vote. Mills easily won re-election, soundly defeating Paul LePage by over 13 points, 55.7%–42.4%.^[99] Hunkler took 1.9%. Mills's margin of victory was the largest for any Maine gubernatorial candidate since Angus King won re-election in 1998, and the largest victory for a statewide Democratic candidate since George J. Mitchell won re-election to the US Senate in 1988.

Maryland

Maryland gubernatorial election

Nominee Wes Moore Dan Cox Party Democratic Republican Running mate Aruna Miller Gordana Schifanelli Popular vote 1,293,944 644,000 Percentage 64.5% 32.1%

Moore:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Cox:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Larry Hogan Republican Elected Governor Wes Moore Democratic