2026 United States lieutenant gubernatorial elections

For related races, see 2026 United States elections.

2026 United States lieutenant gubernatorial elections

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10 lieutenant governorships
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic
Democratic incumbent     Term-limited Democrat      Republican incumbent     Term-limited Republican      No election

United States lieutenant gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in 31 states and three territories. The previous lieutenant gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2022, except in Vermont, where lieutenant governors serve two-year terms and elected their lieutenant governor in 2024. Twenty-four lieutenant governors run on the same ticket as the governor.

There is one state with a Republican elected lieutenant governor in a state Kamala Harris won (Vermont D+31.8). While there is no states with a Democratic elected lieutenant governors in a state Donald Trump won. ^[1]

Race summary

State	Lieutenant governor	Party	First elected	Last race	Status	Candidates
Alabama	Will Ainsworth	Republican	2018	83.7% R	Term-limited	▌ Wes Allen (Republican) [2]
Arkansas	Leslie Rutledge	Republican	2022	64.2% R	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
California	Eleni Kounalakis	Democratic	2018	59.7% D	Term-limited	▌ Steven Bradford (Democratic) [3] ▌ Fiona Ma (Democratic) [3] ▌ David Serpa (Republican) [4] ▌ Michael Tubbs (Democratic) [3]
Georgia	Burt Jones	Republican	2022	51.4% R [5]	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Idaho	Scott Bedke	Republican	2022	64.4% R [6]	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Nevada	Stavros Anthony	Republican	2022	49.4% R [7]	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD
Oklahoma	Matt Pinnell	Republican	2018	61.9% R [8]	Term-limited	▌ Cindy Byrd (Republican) [9]
Rhode Island	Sabina Matos	Democratic	2021 [a]	50.9% D [10]	Incumbent running	▌ Sabina Matos (Democratic) [11]
Texas	Dan Patrick	Republican	2014	53.8% R [12]	Incumbent running	▌ Dan Patrick (Republican) [13]
Vermont	John Rodgers	Republican	2024 [b]	48.8% R [14]	Incumbent's intent unknown	TBD

Alabama

Main article: 2026 Alabama lieutenant gubernatorial election

Two-term incumbent Republican Will Ainsworth is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has declared his intent to run. Attorney General Steve Marshall, Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate, and Public Service Commissioner Twinkle Cavanaugh are considered potential Republican candidates. ^{[15] [2]}

Arkansas

One-term incumbent Republican Leslie Rutledge was first elected in 2022 and is eligible to run for re-election, but has not stated whether she intends to do so. ^[16]

California

Main article: 2026 California lieutenant gubernatorial election

Two-term incumbent Democrat Eleni Kounalakis is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. Treasurer Fiona Ma, former state senator Steven Bradford, and former mayor Michael Tubbs have declared their intent to run as Democrats. ^[3] Businessman and 2024 runner up for CA-39 David Serpa has declared his intent to run as a Republican, becoming the first major and first Republican to enter the race. ^[17]

Georgia

Main article: 2026 Georgia lieutenant gubernatorial election

One-term incumbent Republican Burt Jones was first elected in 2022 and is eligible to run for re-election. He has not stated his intention for 2026, but is considering a run for governor. ^[18]

Idaho

Main article: 2026 Idaho lieutenant gubernatorial election

One-term incumbent Republican Scott Bedke was first elected in 2022 and is eligible to run for re-election. He has not stated his intention for 2026, but may consider running for governor. ^[19]

Nevada

One-term incumbent Republican Stavros Anthony was first elected in 2022 and is eligible to run for re-election, but has not stated whether he intends to do so. ^[20]

Oklahoma

Main article: 2026 Oklahoma lieutenant gubernatorial election

Two-term incumbent Republican Matt Pinnell is term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election.

Rhode Island

Main article: 2026 Rhode Island lieutenant gubernatorial election

One-term incumbent Democrat Sabina Matos is running for re-election. ^{[21] [11]}

Texas

Main article: 2026 Texas lieutenant gubernatorial election

Three-term incumbent Republican Dan Patrick is running for re-election. ^[13]

Vermont

One-term incumbent Republican John Rodgers is eligible to run for re-election.

Notes

1. Matos took office after her predecessor, Dan McKee, resigned. She was subsequently elected in 2022.
2. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, Rodgers was ultimately elected by the Vermont General Assembly on January 9, 2025.

References

1. "2024 Presidential Elections By State Margin of Victory". Fox News Elections. November 26, 2024. Archived from the original on November 12, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
2. "Musical Chairs in Alabama Politics". August 21, 2024.
3. "2026 California lieutenant governor race begins to take shape". Los Angeles Times . July 17, 2024.
4. "California Secretary of State - CalAccess - Campaign Finance". cal-access.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
5. "Trump-backed Burt Jones wins race for Georgia Lieutenant Governor". November 9, 2022.
6. "Longtime Idaho House speaker Bedke wins lieutenant governor race". Idaho Statesman. November 10, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
7. "Nevada Lieutenant Governor Midterm Election 2022: Live Results and Updates". NBC News .
8. "Oklahoma Election Results". The New York Times. November 6, 2018.
9. "State Auditor Cindy Byrd files to run for Oklahoma's lieutenant governor seat". The Oklahoman. January 3, 2025. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
10. "Incumbent Sabina Matos wins Lieutenant governor position over Aaron Guckian". The Providence Journal. November 8, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
11. "Approval for McKee and Matos falls in new Pell Center poll". The Public's Radio. Rhode Island PBS. September 30, 2024. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
12. "Texas Lieutenant Governor Election Results". The New York Times. November 8, 2022.
13. "Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he'll run for reelection in 2026, reversing previous plan to retire". January 25, 2023.
14. "Vermont Lieutenant Governor Election Results". The New York Times. November 5, 2024.
15. "2026 governor's race has begun". November 18, 2024.
16. "Rutledge is elected lieutenant governor, becomes 1st woman voted into state's 2nd-highest office". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. November 9, 2022.
17. "California Secretary of State - CalAccess - Campaign Finance". cal-access.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
18. "Burt Jones says he 'might' run for Georgia governor in 2026".
19. "Idaho's Real Election Begins Wednesday". October 29, 2024.
20. "Stavros Anthony wins Nevada lieutenant governor's race defeating Cano Burkhead". November 11, 2022.
21. "Campaign reports show potential rematch shaping up for 2026 R.I. Governor's race". Rhode Island Current. August 1, 2024.