List of current United States governors facts for kids
The United States has 50 states and 5 territories. Each of these chooses a governor. A governor is like the main boss or leader of their state or territory government. The District of Columbia, which is the federal district where Washington, D.C. is located, has a mayor who does a similar job.
If a governor cannot finish their term, another high-ranking official takes their place. In most states and territories, this person is the lieutenant governor.
As of January 25, 2025, there are 27 states with Republican governors and 23 states with Democratic governors. Both the Republican and Democratic parties also lead two U.S. territories each. The governor of Puerto Rico, Jenniffer González-Colón, is from the New Progressive Party. The mayor of the District of Columbia is a Democrat.
Most governors start their new term in January, two months after they are elected. However, in Alaska, Hawaii, North Dakota, and Kentucky, terms begin in December. Governors usually serve for four years. But in New Hampshire and Vermont, governors serve for two years. Most states and territories also have "term limits." This means a governor can only serve a certain number of terms, usually two times in a row. To become a governor, a person usually needs to be a U.S. citizen and have lived in the state for a while. They also need to be at least 30 years old in most states.
All 55 governors are part of the National Governors Association. This group helps states and territories talk with the federal government. There are also other groups for governors, like the Democratic Governors Association and Republican Governors Association. Plus, there are three groups for governors in different regions: the Midwestern, Northeastern, and Western Governors Associations.
Governors of U.S. States
The governor who has served the longest right now is Greg Abbott of Texas. He started his job on January 20, 2015. The newest governor to take office is Larry Rhoden of South Dakota, who started on January 25, 2025. Many current governors had other important jobs before. For example, 15 of them used to be lieutenant governors, and 11 used to be in the United States House of Representatives.
The average age of governors when they first started their job was about 59 years old. The oldest current governor is Alabama's Kay Ivey, who was born in 1944. The youngest is Arkansas's Sarah Huckabee Sanders, born in 1982. As of January 2025, there are 12 female state governors. Most state governors (47 out of 50) are non-Hispanic white. One is Hispanic (Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico), one is Black (Wes Moore of Maryland), and one is Native American (Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma).
If you see "(term limits)" next to a year, it means the governor cannot run for re-election that year. If you see "(retiring)", it means the governor has said they will not run for re-election or for another job when their term ends.
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| State | Image | Governor | Party | Born | Prior Public Experience | Inauguration | End of Term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Kay Ivey | Republican | October 15, 1944 | Lieutenant Governor
State Treasurer |
April 10, 2017 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| Alaska (list) |  |
Mike Dunleavy | Republican | May 5, 1961 | Alaska Senate | 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) | .jpg) |
Sarah Huckabee Sanders | Republican | August 13, 1982 | White House 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) |  |
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) | _Matt_Meyer.jpg) |
Matt Meyer | Democratic | September 29, 1971 | Executive of New Castle County | January 21, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| Florida (list) | .jpg) |
Ron DeSantis | Republican | September 14, 1978 | U.S. House | 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) |
JB Pritzker | Democratic | January 19, 1965 | Chair of the Illinois Human Rights Commission | January 14, 2019 | 2027 | ||
| Indiana (list) | .jpg) |
Mike Braun | Republican | March 24, 1954 | U.S. Senate
Indiana House |
January 13, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| Iowa (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Kim Reynolds | Republican | August 4, 1959 | Lieutenant Governor
Iowa Senate Clarke County Treasurer |
May 24, 2017 | 2027 (retiring) | ||
| 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) |  |
Janet Mills | Democratic | December 30, 1947 | State Attorney General
Maine House |
January 2, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| Maryland (list) | .jpg) |
Wes Moore | Democratic | October 15, 1978 | No prior public experience | January 18, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| Massachusetts (list) | .jpg) |
Maura Healey | Democratic | February 8, 1971 | State Attorney General | January 5, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| Michigan (list) |  |
Gretchen Whitmer | Democratic | August 23, 1971 | Minority Leader of the Michigan Senate
Michigan House |
January 1, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| Minnesota (list) |  |
Tim Walz | Democratic–Farmer–Labor | April 6, 1964 | U.S. House | January 7, 2019 | 2027 | ||
| Mississippi (list) | .jpg) |
Tate Reeves | Lieutenant Governor
State Treasurer |
January 14, 2020 | 2028 (term limits) | ||||
| Missouri (list) | .jpg) |
Mike Kehoe | Republican | January 17, 1962 | Lieutenant Governor
Majority Leader of the Missouri Senate |
January 13, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| Montana (list) |  |
Greg Gianforte | Republican | April 17, 1961 | U.S. House | January 4, 2021 | 2029 (term limits) | ||
| Nebraska (list) | .jpg) |
Jim Pillen | Republican | December 31, 1955 | No prior public experience | January 5, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| Nevada (list) | .jpg) |
Joe Lombardo | Republican | November 8, 1962 | Clark County Sheriff | January 2, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| New Hampshire (list) | .jpg) |
Kelly Ayotte | Republican | June 27, 1968 | U.S. Senate
Attorney General |
January 9, 2025 | 2027 | ||
| New Jersey (list) | .jpg) |
Phil Murphy | Democratic | August 16, 1957 | U.S. Ambassador to Germany | 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) | .jpg) |
Josh Stein | Democratic | September 13, 1966 | State Attorney General
North Carolina Senate |
January 1, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| North Dakota (list) | .jpg) |
Kelly Armstrong | Republican | October 6, 1976 | U.S. House
Chair of the North Dakota Republican Party North Dakota Senate |
December 15, 2024 | 2028 | ||
| 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 | March 2, 2021 | 2027 | ||
| South Carolina (list) | .jpg) |
Henry McMaster | Republican | May 27, 1947 | Lieutenant Governor
State Attorney General |
January 24, 2017 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| South Dakota (list) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Larry Rhoden | Republican | February 5, 1959 | Lieutenant Governor
Secretary of Agriculture South Dakota House South Dakota Senate |
January 25, 2025 | 2027 | ||
| 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) | _(cropped).jpg) |
Spencer Cox | Republican | July 11, 1975 | Lieutenant Governor
Utah House Sanpete County Commission |
January 4, 2021 | 2029 | ||
| Vermont (list) | .png) |
Phil Scott | Republican | August 4, 1958 | Lieutenant Governor
Vermont Senate |
January 5, 2017 | 2027 | ||
| Virginia (list) | .jpg) |
Glenn Youngkin | Republican | December 9, 1966 | No prior public experience | January 15, 2022 | 2026 (term limits) | ||
| Washington (list) | .jpg) |
Bob Ferguson | Democratic | February 23, 1965 | State Attorney General
Chair of the King County Council |
January 15, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| West Virginia (list) |  |
Patrick Morrisey | Republican | December 21, 1967 | State Attorney General | January 13, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| 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) | ||
Governors of U.S. Territories
The United States also has five territories, and each of them has a governor. These governors lead their territory's government, similar to how state governors work.
| Territory | Image | Governor | Party | Born | Prior Public Experience | Inauguration | End of Term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Samoa (list) |  |
Pula Nikolao Pula | Republican | December 31, 1955 | Director of the Office of Insular Affairs | January 3, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| Guam (list) |  |
Lou Leon Guerrero | Democratic | November 8, 1950 | Guam Legislature | January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||
| Northern Mariana Islands (list) | .jpg) |
Arnold Palacios | Republican | August 22, 1955 | Lieutenant Governor
President of the CNMI Senate Speaker of the CNMI House |
January 9, 2023 | 2027 | ||
| Puerto Rico (list) | .jpg) |
Jenniffer González-Colón | New Progressive | August 5, 1976 | Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico
Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico |
January 2, 2025 | 2029 | ||
| U.S. Virgin Islands (list) |  |
Albert Bryan | Democratic | January 7, 2019 | 2027 (term limits) | ||||
The Mayor of Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia is a special area that is not a state or territory. It has a mayor who has powers similar to a state governor. In the past, Washington and Georgetown (cities within the district) had their own mayors. But in 1871, their governments joined together. From 1871 to 1874, the district had a governor chosen by the U.S. president. Later, a group of three commissioners led the district. In 1975, the District of Columbia got "home rule," which means it could elect its own mayor again.
| 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 | |
Learn More
- 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
- Seals of governors of the U.S. states
External links
- National Governors Association
See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Gobernadores de los estados de Estados Unidos y sus territorios para niños
