Gubernatorial elections, 2021
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Two states held regularly-scheduled elections for governor in 2021. These elections were in New Jersey and Virginia.
California also held a recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on September 14, 2021.
Thirty-six states held gubernatorial elections in 2022. Click here for more information on the 2022 gubernatorial elections.
Partisan balance
The following chart displays the number of governors' offices held by each party as of the 2021 elections and immediately after the elections took place.
| U.S. Governors Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2021 | After the 2021 elections | |
| Democratic Party | |||
| Republican Party | |||
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
Election results
There were two Democratic-held gubernatorial offices up for regular election in 2021. The table and map below show what seats are up for election and the current incumbent in each race.
Additionally, California held a recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on September 14, 2021.
Most states impose some form of term limits on governors; of those that do, all but Virginia limit a governor to two four-year terms or to eight years in office. Although most states' term limit laws allow a governor who has served two terms to be elected once again after time has elapsed, some states impose a lifetime term limit like that on the presidency.
| Gubernatorial elections, 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Trifecta status (before) | Trifecta status (after) | Triplex status (before) | Triplex status (after) | Incumbent | Incumbent ran? | Winner | Margin of victory |
| California (recall) | Democratic trifecta | Democratic trifecta | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  |
Yes | |
D+23.8 |
| New Jersey | Democratic trifecta | Democratic trifecta | Democratic triplex | Democratic triplex |  |
Yes | |
D+3.2 |
| Virginia | Democratic trifecta | Divided government | Democratic triplex | Republican triplex |  |
No (termed-out)[1] |
 |
R+2.4 |
Ballot access requirements for candidates
The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in the 2021 election cycle.
| Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Office | Party | Signatures required | Signature formula | Filing fee | Filing fee formula | Filing deadline | Source |
| New Jersey | Governor | Democratic | 1,000 | Fixed number | N/A | N/A | 4/5/2021 | Source |
| New Jersey | Governor | Republican | 1,000 | Fixed number | N/A | N/A | 4/5/2021 | Source |
| New Jersey | Governor | Unaffiliated | 800 | Fixed number | N/A | N/A | 6/8/2021 | Source |
| Virginia | Governor | Democratic | 2,000 signatures, including at least 50 valid signatures from each congressional district | Fixed number | $3,500.00 | 2% of annual salary | 3/25/2021 | Source |
| Virginia | Governor | Republican[2] | N/A | N/A | $14,000.00 | Fixed by party | 3/26/2021 | Source |
| Virginia | Governor | Unaffiliated | 2,000 signatures, including at least 50 valid signatures from each congressional district | Fixed number | N/A | N/A | 6/8/2021 | Source |
Gubernatorial offices that changed party control
The only governorship that changed party control in the 2021 elections was Virginia's. Republican Glenn Youngkin (R) was elected to succeed term-limited incumbent Ralph Northam (D). Following the 2021 elections, Republicans controlled 28 governorships and Democrats controlled 22.
Defeated incumbents
No incumbents were defeated in the 2021 gubernatorial elections. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) won re-election to a second term and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was retained by voters in the recall election. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was term-limited and could not run for re-election.
Incumbents who did not seek re-election
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was term-limited and could not seek re-election. Governors of Virginia may not run for consecutive terms, although they may run for another term after spending a term out of office.
Offices that flipped in the 2020 elections
- See also: Gubernatorial elections, 2020
Eleven states held elections for governor in 2020, including seven with Republican governors and four with Democratic governors. The only governorship that changed partisan control was Montana, which flipped from Democratic to Republican control.
| Gubernatorial offices that changed party control, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Pre-election control | Post-election control | |||
| Montana | |||||
Competitiveness
An election is considered more competitive when the incumbent officeholder is not a candidate for re-election in the general election. This analysis examines both the degree of competitiveness, relative to past election years, and factors that may or may not have contributed to the degree of competitiveness in the current year.
The advantage an incumbent holds over a challenger in a given election is frequently cited in political theory and its impetus frequently debated. For example, data compiled by OpenSecrets.org shows the re-election rate for incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives has been 85% or higher for each of the 27 two-year election cycles that occurred between 1964 and 2016; and that from 2006-2016 the re-election rate averaged 92.5%.
Across the two gubernatorial elections which took place in 2021:
- 25 candidates, including 11 Republicans, seven Democrats, and seven third party or independent candidates, filed to run.
- One incumbent filed for re-election; Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) was prevented from doing so by term limits.
- One candidate filed to challenge incumbent New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) in the Democratic primary.
- Both races featured at least one Democrat and one Republican in the general as well as contested primaries among each party.
Gubernatorial margin of victory analysis
The following analysis details the margin of victory for winning candidates from the 2021 election and the previous three elections in states that held regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections in 2021.
| Margin of victory analysis, 2009-2021 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2021 margin of victory | 2017 margin of victory | 2013 margin of victory | 2009 margin of victory | |
| New Jersey | D+3.2 | D+14.1 | R+22.1 | R+3.6 | |
| Virginia | R+2.4 | D+8.9 | D+2.5 | R+17.3 | |
State government trifectas
- See also: State government trifectas
As of July 22, 2024, there are 23 Republican trifectas, 17 Democratic trifectas, and 10 divided governments where neither party holds trifecta control.
State government triplexes
- See also: State government triplexes
As of July 22, 2024, there are 25 Republican triplexes, 20 Democratic triplexes, and 5 divided governments where neither party holds triplex control.
Presidential data
- See also: Presidential election, 2020
Joe Biden (D) carried both states that held regularly-scheduled gubernatorial elections in 2021 in the 2020 presidential election. Biden carried New Jersey by a margin of 15.9 percentage points and Virginia by a margin of 10.1 percentage points. Biden won California by a margin of 29.2 percentage points.
California
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
63.5
|
11,110,250 | 55 |
|
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
34.3
|
6,006,429 | 0 | |
|
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.1
|
187,895 | 0 | |
|
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.5
|
81,029 | 0 | |
|
| Roque De La Fuente/Ye (American Independent Party of California) |
0.3
|
60,160 | 0 | |
|
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Peace and Freedom Party) |
0.3
|
51,037 | 0 | |
|
| Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
2,605 | 0 | |
|
| Jesse Ventura/Cynthia McKinney (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
611 | 0 | |
|
| Mark Charles/Adrian Wallace (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
559 | 0 | |
|
| Brock Pierce/Karla Ballard (Unaffiliated) (Write-in) |
0.0
|
185 | 0 | |
| Joseph Kishore/Norissa Santa Cruz (Unaffiliated) |
0.0
|
121 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 17,500,881 |
New Jersey
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
57.3
|
2,608,335 | 14 |
|
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
41.4
|
1,883,274 | 0 | |
|
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
0.7
|
31,677 | 0 | |
|
| Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker (G) |
0.3
|
14,202 | 0 | |
|
| Bill Hammons/Eric Bodenstab (Unity Party) |
0.1
|
3,255 | 0 | |
|
| Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party) |
0.1
|
2,954 | 0 | |
|
| Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman (Party for Socialism and Liberation) |
0.1
|
2,928 | 0 | |
|
| Roque De La Fuente/Darcy Richardson (Alliance Party) |
0.1
|
2,728 | 0 | |
| Total votes: 4,549,353 |
Virginia
Candidate/Running mate |
% |
Popular votes |
Electoral votes |
||
| ✔ |
| Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D) |
54.1
|
2,413,568 | 13 |
|
| Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R) |
44.0
|
1,962,430 | 0 | |
|
| Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L) |
1.5
|
64,761 | 0 | |
| Other write-in votes |
0.4
|
19,765 | 0 | ||
| Total votes: 4,460,524 |
Historical control
Republicans led in governorships from 1994 until 2006, after which there were 28 Democratic governors to the Republicans' 22. Republicans regained their national majority in the 2010 midterm elections. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of Republican governors continued to increase, reaching a high point of 34 following West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice's switch to the Republican Party in August 2017.[3] From 2017 to 2019, Democrats won Republican-held governorships in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. Republicans, meanwhile, gained a governorship in Alaska previously held by independent Bill Walker. These changes brought Republicans to 26 governorships and Democrats to 24. In 2020, Greg Gianforte (R) flipped the governorship in Montana, bringing Republicans to 27 governorships and Democrats to 23.
Important dates and deadlines
New Jersey
Primary election
- April 5, 2021: Candidate filing deadline.
- May 18, 2021: Voter registration deadline.
- June 1, 2021: Absentee voting application deadline (if applying by mail).
- June 4, 2021: Early voting begins.
- June 6, 2021: Early voting ends.
- June 7, 2021, 3:00 p.m.: Absentee voting application deadline (if applying in person).
- June 8, 2021: Primary election in New Jersey.
General election
- October 12, 2021: Voter registration deadline.
- October 23, 2021: Early voting begins.
- October 26, 2021: Absentee voting application deadline (if applying by mail).
- October 31, 2021: Early voting ends.
- November 1, 2021, 3:00 p.m.: Absentee voting application deadline (if applying in person).
- November 2, 2021: General election in New Jersey.
Virginia
Primary election
- March 25, 2021: Candidate filing deadline.
- April 24, 2021: Early voting begins.
- May 8, 2021: Republican convention.
- May 17, 2021: Voter registration deadline.
- May 28, 2021: Absentee voting application deadline.
- June 5, 2021: Early voting ends.
- June 8, 2021: Democratic primary election in Virginia.
General election
- September 18, 2021: Early voting begins.
- October 11, 2021: Voter registration deadline.
- October 22, 2021: Absentee voting application deadline.
- October 30, 2021: Early voting ends.
- November 2, 2021: General election in Virginia.
About the office
- See also: Governor (state executive office)
In the United States, the title governor refers to the chief executive of each state. The governor is not directly subordinate to the federal authorities but is the political and ceremonial head of the state. The governor may also assume additional roles, such as the commander-in-chief of the National Guard when the role is not federalized. The governor may also have the ability to commute or pardon a criminal sentence.
In all states, the governor is directly elected and, in most cases, has considerable practical powers. Notable exceptions with weak governorships include the office of the governor in Texas, though this may be moderated by the state legislature and, in some cases, by other elected executive officials. Governors can veto state bills. The specific duties and powers vary widely between states.
Compensation
According to compensation figures for 2022 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a governor was $250,000 in New York while the lowest is $70,000 in Maine. To view the compensation of a particular governor, hover your mouse over the state.[4]
Staff size
According to figures for 2022 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, gubernatorial offices range in size from 9 staffers in Nebraska to 277 staffers in Texas.[4]
Involvement in budget proposals
Although all governors have some involvement in the process of developing a state budget, the specific level of involvement differs from state to state. According to information published in the 2022 Book of the States, 24 governors share responsibility for developing a budget proposal, while 11 governors have full responsibility for developing an initial budget proposal and the remaining 15 have full responsibility for developing a budget.[5]
Term limits
- See also: States with gubernatorial term limits
Most states impose some form of term limits on governors; of those that do, all but Virginia limit a governor to two four-year terms or to eight years in office. Although most states' term limit laws allow a governor who has served two terms to be elected once again after time has elapsed, some states impose a lifetime term limit like that on the presidency. Although Vermont and New Hampshire do not have term limit laws, they are the only states whose governors serve two-year terms rather than four-year terms.
Line-item veto powers
The term line-item veto refers to the ability of a governor or other chief executive to veto specific parts of a bill while signing the rest of the bill into law. Currently, 44 states grant their governors line-item veto powers.[5]
Analysis of state elections
In 2021, six states held elections for executive, legislative, or judicial seats, including elections for three of the nation's 99 state legislative chambers, 15 appellate court seats, and two gubernatorial offices.
See also
- State executive official elections, 2021
- Gubernatorial elections, 2020
- State executive official elections, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ Virginia governors are not allowed to succeed themselves in office, however they have no restrictions on the number of times they may hold the position.
- ↑ In 2021, the Republican Party of Virginia opted to nominate its gubernatorial candidate by convention rather than primary.
- ↑ Because Justice switched his registration more than halfway through the year, he was counted as a Democrat in 2017 for the purposes of the chart.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2022 Table 4.3: The Governors: Compensation, Staff, Travel and Residence provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Council of State Governments' Book of the States 2022 Table 4.4: The Governors: Powers provided to Ballotpedia by CSG personnel
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