List of current United States governors facts for kids
The United States has 50 states and 5 territories that each elect a governor to serve as chief executive of the state or territorial government. The sole federal district, the District of Columbia, elects a mayor to oversee their government in a similar manner. Most states and territories also have a lieutenant governor who is the second-highest-ranking official and the first to succeed the governor in the event of a vacancy.
As of April 4, 2024[update], there are 27 states with Republican governors and 23 states with Democratic governors. Four U.S. territories have Democratic governors, while one has an independent governor. Pedro Pierluisi of Puerto Rico is a member of the New Progressive Party, although he is also affiliated with the Democratic Party. All 55 governors are members of the National Governors Association, a non-partisan organization which represents states and territories in discussions with the federal government. The federal District of Columbia is governed by a Democratic mayor.
State governors
The current gubernatorial term ends and new term begins in January of the given year for most states and territories; in Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Kentucky, the term ends in December of that year's election. All 55 state and territorial governors are members of the non-partisan National Governors Association as well as the partisan Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association. Three regional associations—Midwestern, Northeastern, and Western—also serve as non-partisan organizations to lobby for governors' interests.
The longest serving incumbent U.S. governor is Jay Inslee of Washington, who took office on January 16, 2013. The most recently inaugurated governor is Jeff Landry of Louisiana, who took office on January 8, 2024. The average age of governors at the time of their inauguration was 59.28 years old. Alabama governor Kay Ivey (born 1944) is the oldest current governor, and Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (born 1982) is the youngest. As of the 2022 elections[update], there are 12 female state governors currently serving. 46 of the governors are non-Hispanic white, while one is Hispanic, one is Black, and one is Native American.
The notation "(term limits)" after the year indicates that the governor is ineligible to seek re-election in that year; the notation "(retiring)" indicates that the governor has announced his or her intention not to seek re-election at the end of the term nor to run for another office.
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| United States governors Republican (27) Democratic (23) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Image | Governor | Party | Born | Prior public experience | Inauguration | End of term | |||
| Alabama (list) | .jpg) |
Kay Ivey | Republican | October 15, 1944 | Lieutenant Governor State Treasurer |
April 10, 2017 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Alaska (list) | .jpg) |
Mike Dunleavy | Republican | May 5, 1961 | Alaska Senate Matanuska-Susitna Borough Board President |
December 3, 2018 | 2026 (term limits) | |||
| Arizona (list) |  |
Katie Hobbs | Democratic | December 28, 1969 | Secretary of State Minority Leader of the Arizona Senate Arizona House |
January 2, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Arkansas (list) |  |
Sarah Huckabee Sanders | Republican | August 13, 1982 | White House Press Secretary White House Deputy Press Secretary |
January 10, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| California (list) | .jpg) |
Gavin Newsom | Democratic | October 10, 1967 | Lieutenant Governor Mayor of San Francisco San Francisco Board of Supervisors |
January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Colorado (list) | .jpg) |
Jared Polis | Democratic | May 12, 1975 | U.S. House Colorado State Board of Education |
January 8, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Connecticut (list) | .jpg) |
Ned Lamont | Democratic | January 3, 1954 | Chair of the State Investment Advisory Council Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation Greenwich Board of Selectmen |
January 9, 2019 | 2027 | |||
| Delaware (list) |  |
John Carney | Democratic | May 20, 1956 | U.S. House Lieutenant Governor State Secretary of Finance Chief of Staff to Governor Tom Carper |
January 17, 2017 | 2025 (term limits) | |||
| Florida (list) | .jpg) |
Ron DeSantis | Republican | September 14, 1978 | U.S. House Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy |
January 8, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Georgia (list) | .jpg) |
Brian Kemp | Republican | November 2, 1963 | Secretary of State Georgia Senate |
January 14, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Hawaii (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Josh Green | Democratic | February 11, 1970 | Lieutenant Governor Hawaii Senate Hawaii House |
December 5, 2022 | 2026 | |||
| Idaho (list) | .jpg) |
Brad Little | Republican | February 15, 1954 | Lieutenant Governor Idaho Senate |
January 7, 2019 | 2027 | |||
| Illinois (list) | .jpg) |
J. B. Pritzker | Democratic | January 19, 1965 | Chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission Co-Chair of Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign |
January 14, 2019 | 2027 | |||
| Indiana (list) |  |
Eric Holcomb | Republican | May 2, 1968 | Lieutenant Governor Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Dan Coats State Republican Party Chair Yeoman in the United States Navy |
January 9, 2017 | 2025 (term limits) | |||
| Iowa (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Kim Reynolds | Republican | August 4, 1959 | Lieutenant Governor Iowa Senate Clarke County Treasurer |
May 24, 2017 | 2027 | |||
| Kansas (list) | .jpg) |
Laura Kelly | Democratic | January 24, 1950 | Kansas Senate | January 14, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Kentucky (list) | .jpg) |
Andy Beshear | Democratic | November 29, 1977 | State Attorney General | December 10, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Louisiana (list) | .jpg) |
Jeff Landry | Republican | December 23, 1970 | State Attorney General U.S. House |
January 8, 2024 | 2028 | |||
| Maine (list) | .jpg) |
Janet Mills | Democratic | December 30, 1947 | State Attorney General Maine House Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties District Attorney |
January 2, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Maryland (list) | .jpg) |
Wes Moore | Democratic | October 15, 1978 | Captain in the United States Army | January 18, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Massachusetts (list) | .jpg) |
Maura Healey | Democratic | February 8, 1971 | State Attorney General | January 5, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Michigan (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Gretchen Whitmer | Democratic | August 23, 1971 | Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney Minority Leader of the Michigan Senate Michigan House |
January 1, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Minnesota (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Tim Walz | Democratic–Farmer–Labor | April 6, 1964 | U.S. House Command Sergeant Major in the Army National Guard |
January 7, 2019 | 2027 | |||
| Mississippi (list) | .jpg) |
Tate Reeves | Republican | June 5, 1974 | Lieutenant Governor State Treasurer |
January 14, 2020 | 2028 (term limits) | |||
| Missouri (list) | .jpg) |
Mike Parson | Republican | September 17, 1955 | Lieutenant Governor Missouri Senate Missouri House Polk County Sheriff Sergeant in the United States Army |
June 1, 2018 | 2025 (term limits) | |||
| Montana (list) |  |
Greg Gianforte | Republican | April 17, 1961 | U.S. House | January 4, 2021 | 2025 | |||
| Nebraska (list) |  |
Jim Pillen | Republican | December 31, 1955 | University of Nebraska Board of Regents | January 5, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Nevada (list) |  |
Joe Lombardo | Republican | November 8, 1962 | Clark County Sheriff U.S. Army Reserve U.S. Army National Guard |
January 2, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| New Hampshire (list) | .jpg) |
Chris Sununu | Republican | November 5, 1974 | New Hampshire Executive Council | January 5, 2017 | 2025 (retiring) | |||
| New Jersey (list) |  |
Phil Murphy | Democratic | August 16, 1957 | U.S. Ambassador to Germany Finance Chair of the Democratic National Committee |
January 16, 2018 | 2026 (term limits) | |||
| New Mexico (list) |  |
Michelle Lujan Grisham | Democratic | October 24, 1959 | U.S. House Bernalillo County Commission State Secretary of Health |
January 1, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| New York (list) |  |
Kathy Hochul | Democratic | August 27, 1958 | Lieutenant Governor U.S. House Erie County Clerk |
August 24, 2021 | 2026 | |||
| North Carolina (list) |  |
Roy Cooper | Democratic | June 13, 1957 | State Attorney General Majority Leader of the North Carolina Senate North Carolina House |
January 1, 2017 | 2025 (term limits) | |||
| North Dakota (list) | .jpg) |
Doug Burgum | Republican | August 1, 1956 | No prior public experience | December 15, 2016 | 2024 (retiring) | |||
| Ohio (list) | .jpg) |
Mike DeWine | Republican | January 5, 1947 | State Attorney General U.S. Senate Lieutenant Governor U.S. House Ohio Senate Greene County Prosecutor |
January 14, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Oklahoma (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Kevin Stitt | Republican | December 28, 1972 | No prior public experience | January 14, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Oregon (list) | .jpg) |
Tina Kotek | Democratic | September 30, 1966 | Speaker of the Oregon House | January 9, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Pennsylvania (list) | .jpg) |
Josh Shapiro | Democratic | June 20, 1973 | State Attorney General Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Pennsylvania House |
January 17, 2023 | 2027 | |||
| Rhode Island (list) |  |
Dan McKee | Democratic | June 16, 1951 | Lieutenant Governor Mayor of Cumberland Cumberland Town Council |
March 2, 2021 | 2027 | |||
| South Carolina (list) | .jpg) |
Henry McMaster | Republican | May 27, 1947 | Lieutenant Governor State Attorney General State Republican Party Chair U.S. Attorney |
January 24, 2017 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| South Dakota (list) | .jpg) |
Kristi Noem | Republican | November 30, 1971 | U.S. House South Dakota House |
January 5, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Tennessee (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Bill Lee | Republican | October 9, 1959 | No prior public experience | January 19, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
| Texas (list) |  |
Greg Abbott | Republican | November 13, 1957 | State Attorney General Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court |
January 20, 2015 | 2027 | |||
| Utah (list) | .jpg) |
Spencer Cox | Republican | July 11, 1975 | Lieutenant Governor Utah House Sanpete County Commission Mayor of Fairview |
January 4, 2021 | 2025 | |||
| Vermont (list) |  |
Phil Scott | Republican | August 4, 1958 | Lieutenant Governor Vermont Senate |
January 5, 2017 | 2025 | |||
| Virginia (list) |  |
Glenn Youngkin | Republican | December 9, 1966 | No prior public experience | January 15, 2022 | 2026 (term limits) | |||
| Washington (list) | .jpg) |
Jay Inslee | Democratic | February 9, 1951 | U.S. House Washington House |
January 16, 2013 | 2025 (retiring) | |||
| West Virginia (list) |  |
Jim Justice | Republican |
April 27, 1951 | No prior public experience | January 16, 2017 | 2025 (term limits) | |||
| Wisconsin (list) | .jpg) |
Tony Evers | Democratic | November 5, 1951 | State Superintendent of Public Instruction | January 7, 2019 | 2027 | |||
| Wyoming (list) |  |
Mark Gordon | Republican | March 14, 1957 | State Treasurer | January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | |||
Territory governors
| Territory governors Democratic (4) Independent (1) New Progressive (1) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territory | Image | Governor | Party | Born | Prior public experience | Inauguration | End of term | ||
| American Samoa (list) | .png) |
Lemanu Peleti Mauga | Democratic |
January 3, 1960 | Lieutenant Governor American Samoa Senate Major in the United States Army |
January 3, 2021 | 2025 | ||
| Guam (list) |  |
Lou Leon Guerrero | Democratic | November 8, 1950 | Guam Legislature | January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| Northern Mariana Islands (list) |  |
Arnold Palacios | Independent | August 22, 1955 | Lieutenant Governor President of the CNMI Senate Speaker of the CNMI House |
January 9, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| Puerto Rico (list) | .jpg) |
Pedro Pierluisi | New Progressive | April 25, 1959 | U.S. House Territorial Secretary of Justice |
January 2, 2021 | 2025 | ||
| U.S. Virgin Islands (list) |  |
Albert Bryan | Democratic | February 21, 1968 | Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor | January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
Federal district mayor
The District of Columbia is a federal district that elects a mayor that has similar powers to those of a state or territorial governor. From 1871 to 1874, the district had a governor that was appointed by the President of the United States.
| Federal district mayor Democratic (1) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal district | Image | Mayor | Party | Born | Prior public experience | Inauguration | End of term | ||
| District of Columbia (list) | .jpg) |
Muriel Bowser | Democratic | August 2, 1972 | D.C. Council Advisory Neighborhood Commission |
January 2, 2015 | 2027 | ||
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernadores de los estados de Estados Unidos y sus territorios para niños
- Flags of governors of the U.S. states
- List of current United States first spouses
- List of current United States governors by age
- List of current United States lieutenant governors
- List of female governors in the United States
- List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States
- List of United States state legislatures
- List of U.S. state governors born outside the United States
- National Governors Association
- Seals of governors of the U.S. states
