2025 United States gubernatorial elections
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 Term-limited Republican Term-limited Democrat | ||||||||||||||||
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 4, 2025, in two states, New Jersey and Virginia. These elections form part of the 2025 United States elections. The last gubernatorial elections for New Jersey and Virginia were in 2021. Both incumbents are ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits. More states may hold elections due to a gubernatorial vacancy (depending on a state's constitution) or recall of a governor.[1][2]
Partisan composition
[edit]Going into the election, there are 27 Republican governors and 23 Democratic governors in the United States. This class of governors is made up of 1 Republican and 1 Democrat. Republicans are defending one governorship in a state that Kamala Harris won in 2024 (Virginia). Democrats are defending one governorship in a state that Harris won by single digits (New Jersey).
Election predictions
[edit]Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating a party's predicted advantage in winning that seat.
Most election predictors use:
- "tossup": no advantage
- "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
- "lean": slight advantage
- "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
- "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory
| State | PVI | Incumbent | Last race |
Cook December 6, 2024[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | D+6 | Phil Murphy (term-limited) |
51.2% D | Lean D |
| Virginia | D+3 | Glenn Youngkin (term-limited) |
50.6% R | Tossup |
Race summary
[edit]| State | Governor | Party | First elected | Last race | Status | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Phil Murphy | Democratic | 2017 | 51.2% D | Term-limited |
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| Virginia | Glenn Youngkin | Republican | 2021 | 50.6% R | Term-limited |
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New Jersey
[edit]Governor Phil Murphy was re-elected to a second term in 2021 with 51.2% of the vote. He will be term-limited by the New Jersey Constitution in 2025 and cannot seek re-election for a third consecutive term. Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop, former New Jersey Senate president Stephen Sweeney, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer and Mikie Sherrill, and Newark mayor Ras Baraka are running for the Democratic nomination.[10][15][4][11][19] Former state assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, who was the 2021 Republican gubernatorial nominee, state senator Jon Bramnick, and former state senator Edward Durr are seeking the Republican nomination.[7][5][8]
Virginia
[edit]Governor Glenn Youngkin was elected in 2021 with 50.6% of the vote. He will be term-limited by the Virginia Constitution in 2025 and cannot seek re-election for a second consecutive term. Attorney General Jason Miyares has been mentioned as potential Republican gubernatorial candidate.[20][21] Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears is running for the Republican nomination. U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district Abigail Spanberger is running for the Democratic nomination.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Phil Murphy narrowly reelected governor in New Jersey, defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli". 6abc Philadelphia. Associated Press. November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ "Term Limits on Governor". U.S. Term Limits. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ "2025 CPR Governor Race ratings". The Cook Political Report.
- ^ a b Wildstein, David (February 19, 2024). "Baraka Says He'll Run For Governor In 2025". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Wildstein, David (January 27, 2024). "Bramnick joins race for N.J. governor". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
- ^ Wall, Karen (April 9, 2024). "Brick Man Joins Republican Race For New Jersey Governor". Patch. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ a b Wildstein, David (April 9, 2024). "Jack Ciattarelli launches bid for governor, pledging to cut taxes and spending". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Johnson, Brent (May 14, 2024). "Republican truck driver who shocked N.J. politics pulls into governor's race". NJ.com. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ Blackburn, Zach (August 19, 2024). "Former Burlington City mayor running longshot campaign for governor". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
- ^ a b Wildstein, David (April 11, 2023). "Fulop announces bid for Governor in 2025". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ a b Sobko, Katie (November 15, 2024). "Rep. Josh Gottheimer makes it official: He's running for governor of New Jersey". North Jersey. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
- ^ Friedman, Matt (November 18, 2024). "New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill's campaign for governor takes flight". Politico. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
- ^ "New Jersey Morning Host Bill Spadea To Run For Governor". Radio Ink. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- ^ Wildstein, David (June 14, 2023). "Spiller will run for governor". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ a b Racioppi, Dustin (December 11, 2023). "Sweeney enters NJ governor's race after upset loss as Senate president". Politico. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ O'Connor, Michael (April 23, 2024). "Democratic shakeup in Virginia primaries for governor, lieutenant governor". Dogwood. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
- ^ Vozzella, Laura; Schneider, Gregory S. (September 5, 2024). "Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears announces her candidacy for governor". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ a b Rankin, Sarah (November 13, 2023). "Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger is running for governor instead of seeking reelection to the House". AP News. The Associated Press. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ^ https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/18/sherrill-2025-campaign-takes-off-00190108
- ^ Oliver, Ned (March 9, 2023). "Who's (already) running for Virginia governor". Axios. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Manchester, Julia (November 29, 2021). "Winsome Sears to begin historic new chapter as Virginia lt. governor". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.