2026 Primaries and Caucuses

Here’s a look at the 36 races for governor this year

The U.S. Constitution gives states a lot of power. Governors and legislatures write most of the laws on schools, crime, reproductive rights, taxes and more. It’s governors who have been key in promoting or blocking President Trump’s agenda. Republican governors have worked to make ICE deportations easier in their states. Democrats have sued over Trump’s immigration policies, to block administration attempts to get voter data or cut healthcare funding, and even to block some of Trump’s tariffs.

Right now, there are 26 Republican and 24 Democratic governors. With 19 incumbents leaving office, there will be a lot of turnover.

Race ratings reflect analysis from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, as of Oct. 29

Most competitive seats

Alaska Lean D

Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D)
Dave Bronson (R)
Treg Taylor (R)
Bernadette Wilson (R)

Open race — Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Alaska Public Media | KTOO
Alaska primary election results

Florida Lean R

David Jolly (D)
Byron Donalds (R)

Open race — Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from WFSU | WUSF | WLRN
Florida primary election results

Georgia Toss Up

Keisha Lance Bottoms (D)
Rick Jackson (R)

Open race — Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Georgia Public Broadcasting | WABE
Georgia primary election results

Iowa Lean D

Rob Sand (D)
Zach Lahn (R)

Open race — Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) is retiring.
Coverage of this race from Iowa Public Radio
Iowa primary election results

Kansas Toss Up

Cindy Holscher (D)
Ty Masterson (R)

Open race — Gov. Laura Kelly (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from KCUR
Kansas primary election results

Michigan Lean D

Jocelyn Benson (D)
John James (R)

Open race — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Michigan Radio | WDET | WKAR
Michigan primary election results

Nebraska Lean R

Lynne Walz (D)
Jim Pillen (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from Nebraska Public Media
Nebraska primary election results

Nevada Toss Up

Aaron Ford (D)
Joe Lombardo (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from KNPR | KUNR
Nevada primary election results

Ohio Lean D

Amy Acton (D)
Vivek Ramaswamy (R)

Open race — Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Statehouse News Bureau
Ohio primary election results

Oregon Lean D

Tina Kotek (D) — incumbent
Christine Drazan (R)

Coverage of this race from Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregon primary election results

Texas Lean R

Gina Hinojosa (D)
Greg Abbott (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from Houston Public Media | KUT | KERA | Texas Public Radio
Texas primary election results

Wisconsin Lean D

David Crowley (D)
Tom Tiffany (R)

Open race — Gov. Tony Evers (D) is retiring.
Coverage of this race from Wisconsin Public Radio | WUWM
Wisconsin primary election results

Likely/Solid Democratic

Arizona Likely D

Katie Hobbs (D) — incumbent
Andy Biggs (R)

Coverage of this race from KJZZ | Arizona Public Media
Arizona primary election results

California Solid D

Xavier Becerra (D)
Steve Hilton (R)

Open race — Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from KQED | CapRadio | LAist | KPBS
California primary election results

Colorado Solid D

Phil Weiser (D)
Victor Marx (R)

Open race — Gov. Jared Polis (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Colorado Public Radio | KUNC
Colorado primary election results

Connecticut Solid D

Ned Lamont (D) — incumbent
Ryan Fazio (R)

Coverage of this race from Connecticut Public
Connecticut primary election results

Hawaii Solid D

Josh Green (D) — incumbent
Gary Cordery (R)

Coverage of this race from Hawaii Public Radio
Hawaii primary election results

Illinois Solid D

JB Pritzker (D) — incumbent
Darren Bailey (R)

Coverage of this race from WBEZ | NPR Illinois
Illinois primary election results

Maine Solid D

Hannah Pingree (D)
Robert Charles (R)

Open race — Gov. Janet Mills (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Maine Public
Maine primary election results

Maryland Solid D

Wes Moore (D) — incumbent
Dan Cox (R)

Coverage of this race from WYPR | WAMU
Maryland primary election results

Massachusetts Solid D

Maura Healey (D) — incumbent
Michael Minogue (R)

Coverage of this race from WBUR | WGBH
Massachusetts primary election results

Minnesota Solid D

Amy Klobuchar (D)
Lisa Demuth (R)

Open race — Gov. Tim Walz (D) dropped out of the race in Dec. 2025.
Coverage of this race from Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota primary election results

New Mexico Solid D

Deb Haaland (D)
Gregg Hull (R)

Open race — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from KUNM
New Mexico primary election results

New York Solid D

Kathy Hochul (D) — incumbent
Bruce Blakeman (R)

Coverage of this race from Gothamist | WXXI
New York primary election results

Pennsylvania Solid D

Josh Shapiro (D) — incumbent
Stacy Garrity (R)

Coverage of this race from WESA | WHYY | WITF
Pennsylvania primary election results

Rhode Island Solid D

Helena Foulkes (D)
Aaron Guckian (R)

Open race — Gov. Dan McKee (D) lost in the primaries.
Coverage of this race from Ocean State Media
Rhode Island primary election results

Likely/Solid Republican

Alabama Solid R

Doug Jones (D)
Tommy Tuberville (R)

Open race — Gov. Kay Ivey (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from WBHM
Alabama primary election results

Arkansas Solid R

Fred Love (D)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from Little Rock Public Radio
Arkansas primary election results

Idaho Solid R

Terri Pickens (D)
Brad Little (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from Boise State Public Radio
Idaho primary election results

New Hampshire Likely R

Cinde Warmington (D)
Kelly Ayotte (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from New Hampshire Public Radio
New Hampshire primary election results

Oklahoma Likely R

Cyndi Munson (D)
Mike Mazzei (R)

Open race — Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from KOSU | Public Radio Tulsa
Oklahoma primary election results

South Carolina Solid R

Jermaine Johnson (D)
Alan Wilson (R)

Open race — Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from South Carolina Public Radio
South Carolina primary election results

South Dakota Solid R

Dan Ahlers (D)
Larry Rhoden (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from South Dakota Public Broadcasting
South Dakota primary election results

Tennessee Solid R

Jerri Green (D)
Marsha Blackburn (R)

Open race — Gov. Bill Lee (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from WPLN
Tennessee primary election results

Vermont Likely R

Amanda Janoo (D)
Phil Scott (R) — incumbent

Coverage of this race from Vermont Public
Vermont primary election results

Wyoming Solid R

Kenneth Casner (D)
Eric Barlow (R)

Open race — Gov. Mark Gordon (R) is term limited.
Coverage of this race from Wyoming Public Media
Wyoming primary election results

Photo credits: Abbott: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Acton: Sue Ogrocki/AP; Ahlers: Jackson Dircks/SDPB; Ayotte: Charles Krupa/AP; Bailey: Jim Vondruska/Getty; Barlow: Carl Cote/County10; Becerra: Jae C. Hong/AP; Benson: Monica Morgan/Getty Images; Biggs: Ross D. Franklin/AP; Blackburn: George Walker IV/AP; Blakeman: Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images; Block: Michael Carenvale/Ocean State Media; Bottoms: Matt Odom/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Bronson: Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media; Casner: Carl Cote/County10; Charles: Steve Mistler/Maine Public; Cox: Todd Dudek/AP File Photo; Crowley: Scott Olson/Getty Images; Demuth: Ellen Schmidt/AP; Drazan: Saskia Hatvany/OPB; Donalds: Chris Tilley/AP; Fazio: Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public via Getty Images; Foulkes: Michael Carenvale/Ocean State Media; Garrity and Shapiro: Mark Levy/AP; Guckian: Michael Carenvale/Ocean State Media; Green: Ronen Zilberman/AFP via Getty Images; Green: Marianna Bacallao/WPLN; Haaland: Roberto E. Rosales/AP; Healey: Scott Eisen/Getty Images for Vox Media; Hilton: Jae C. Hong/AP; Hinojosa: Andrew Schneider/Houston Public Media; Hobbs: Ross D. Franklin/AP; Hochul: Seth Wenig/AP; Holscher: John Hanna/AP; Jackson: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images; James: Paul Sancya/AP; Janoo: Zoe MacDonald/Vermont Public; Johnson: Jeffrey Collins/AP; Jolly: John Raoux/AP; Klobuchar: Shannon Finney/NBC via Getty Images; Kotek: Anna Lueck for OPB; Kreiss-Tomkins: Becky Bohrer/AP; Lahn: Brittany Peterson/AP; Lamont: Tyler Russell/Connecticut Public via Getty Images; Little: Darin Oswald / Idaho Statesman / Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Love: Brian Chilson/AP; Masterson: John Hanna/AP; Marx: Kevin Beaty/Denverite; Mazzei: Julio Cortez/AP; Minogue: Jesse Costa/WBUR; Moore: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP File Photo; Munson: Sue Ogrocki/AP File Photo; Pickens: James Dawson / Boise State Public Radio; Pillen: Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP; Pingree: Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Priztker: Erin Hooley/EP; Ramaswamy: Matt Rourke/AP; Rhoden: Toby Brusseau/AP; Sand: Bryon Houlgrave/AP; Sanders: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Scott: Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images; Tiffany: Mark Schiefelbein/AP; Warmington: Reba Saldanha/AP; Wilson: Jeffrey Collins/AP; Walz: Nati Harnik/AP; Weiser: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images; Wilson: Alex Brandon/AP; Wilson: Eric Stone/Alaska Public Media

Correction: A previous version of this page incorrectly said that Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin is term limited. Evers is retiring.