Lieutenant gubernatorial elections, 2025
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There are two lieutenant gubernatorial offices on the ballot in 2025. These elections are in New Jersey and Virginia. New Jersey's lieutenant governor is elected on a joint ticket with the governor, and Virginia's lieutenant governor is separately elected. There is one Democratic-held and one Republican-held office up for election in 2025.
In 45 states, the lieutenant governor is the second-highest executive office, behind the governor. Although the powers and duties of the lieutenant governor vary from state to state, lieutenant governors are responsible for filling vacancies in the office of governor. In many states, lieutenant governors often sit on boards or commissions and are often involved in the proceedings of the state Senate.
The process for selecting a lieutenant governor varies from state to state. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the member of the state Senate chosen to serve as its president becomes the lieutenant governor. In the other 43 states with lieutenant governors, the officeholder is elected—this election is separate from the gubernatorial election in 17 states and is held on a joint ticket in the other 26.
In 2024, there were nine lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot. These elections were in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. In four states (Indiana, Montana, North Dakota and Utah, the lieutenant governor was elected on a joint ticket and in five states (Delaware, Missouri, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington), the lieutenant governor was elected separately. In two states, North Carolina and Vermont, the party out of power won the lieutenant governorship. A Democrat won in North Carolina and a Republican won in Vermont.
Partisan balance
The following chart displays the number of lieutenant governors' offices held by each party before and after the 2025 elections.
| U.S. lieutenant governors partisan breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of the 2025 elections | After the 2025 elections | |
| Democratic Party | 20 | TBD | |
| Republican Party | 25 | TBD | |
| Total | 45 | 45 | |
List of elections
There is one Democratic-held and one Republican-held office up for election in 2025. The table below displays more information about these races.
| State | Trifecta status (before) | Triplex status (before) | Incumbent | Incumbent party | Incumbent running? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Democratic trifecta | Democratic triplex | Tahesha Way |  Democratic[1] |
TBD |
| Virginia | Divided trifecta control | Republican triplex | Winsome Earle-Sears |  Republican |
No |
List of candidates
The table below contains a list of all candidates for lieutenant governor in 2025. The table is fully searchable by candidate, party and candidacy status. Depending on the size of your screen, you'll either see a menu to the left of the table or an arrow at the top right corner, which you can use to select a state.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republican | On the Ballot General | |
Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | ||
 | Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | |
 | Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | |
 | Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | |
Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | ||
 | Democratic | On the Ballot Primary | |
 | Independent | Candidacy Declared General | |
Republican | Withdrew Primary | ||
Republican | Withdrew Primary |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Historical control
In 1977, the Democratic Party held a total of 34 lieutenant governorships to the Republican Party's 10. The Democratic lead in lieutenant governorships would be maintained until the midterm elections of 1994, which gave the Republican Party control of 23 lieutenant governorships to the Democrats' 21. The midterm elections of 2006 led to the Democratic Party regaining its lead in lieutenant governorships, with 23 to the Republicans' 21. However, the Republican Party regained its lead in the 2008 elections. After that election, lieutenant governorships trended Republican until the 2018 elections, with the party reaching a high of 32 lieutenant governorships to Democrats' 13 in 2015 and 2016. In 2018, Democrats and Republicans each won 15 of the 30 seats up for election, narrowing the gap in seats but keeping the Republican lead in place. In 2019, Democrats gained Kentucky's lieutenant governorship, giving Democrats 21 seats to Republicans' 24. Republicans gained one net lieutenant governorship each in 2020 and 2021, and Democrats gained one net lieutenant governorship in 2022. In 2023 and 2024, no lieutenant governorships changed partisan control.
About the office
Selection process
In 26 states, the lieutenant governor is selected on a ticket with the governor, meaning that lieutenant gubernatorial candidates serve as running mates to gubernatorial candidates, with the winning gubernatorial candidate's running mate becoming lieutenant governor. In eight of these states, there are separate primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, with the winning candidate in each primary appearing on the general election ticket. In the remaining 18 states, gubernatorial candidates may pick their own running mates in a similar fashion to presidential candidates. In 17 states, the lieutenant governor is elected separately from the governor. In Tennessee and West Virginia, the title of lieutenant governor is given to the president of the state Senate.[2]
- Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary and elected in separate general election (17): Alabama, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington
- Lt. gov. nominated in separate primary but runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in general election (7): Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
- Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial candidate before primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial candidate in both the primary and general election (9): Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah
- Lt. gov. chosen by gubernatorial nominee after primary and runs on a single ticket with gubernatorial nominee in the general election (10): Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota
- Lt. gov. is a member of the legislature (2): Tennessee, West Virginia
- Lt. gov. office does not exist in state (5): Arizona, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Wyoming
Partisan affiliation
There are currently a total of 30 Republican lieutenant governors and 14 Democratic lieutenant governors, including David Zuckerman of Vermont, whose primary affiliation is with the Vermont Progressive Party. The position of lieutenant governor of Alabama is vacant following Kay Ivey's (R) promotion to the governorship in April 2017.
Compensation
According to compensation figures for 2023 compiled by the Council of State Governments in the Book of the States, the highest salary for a lieutenant governor was $210,000 in New York while the lowest was $7,200 in Texas. To view the compensation of a specific lieutenant governor, hover your mouse over the state.
Legislative powers
In 27 states, the lieutenant governor is involved with the legislative process as the presiding officer of the state Senate. In 24 of those states, the lieutenant governor also has the power to cast a tiebreaking vote in the Senate, although some states limit this ability to votes on specific issues.[3]
Gubernatorial delegation
In 24 states, the governor may formally transfer a portion of their power to the lieutenant governor.[3]
Acting governor
In 29 states, the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor while the governor is out of the state; three of these states place limits on this role.[3]
Term limits
To view term limits for a particular state, hover your mouse over that state.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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