
The filing deadline for candidates seeking office in 2026 passed in three states in January: Alabama (Jan. 23), Kentucky (Jan. 9), and West Virginia (Jan. 31). Kentucky and West Virginia do not hold state executive elections in mid-term years. In Alabama, nine state executive offices are up for election. Of those offices, six current officeholders…

The filing deadline for candidates seeking office in 2026 has passed in three states: Arkansas (Nov. 11), Illinois (Nov. 3), and Texas (Dec. 8). In Illinois and Texas, at least one state executive official is not seeking re-election, while in Arkansas, every incumbent state executive official is running for another term. In Illinois, six state…

Ballotpedia's 2025 study of competitiveness in state executive official elections found that 50% of incumbents (4 incumbents across 8 seats) did not seek re-election, leaving those seats open. An average of 41.7% of state executive seats were open in odd-year elections from 2011-2023. An average of 58.3% state executive incumbents sought re-election in odd years…

Georgia is holding a special election for two of five seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission on November 4, 2025. The primary is June 17, 2025, and a primary runoff (if necessary) will be held on July 15, 2025. A general runoff is on December 2, 2025. The Georgia Public Service Commission is in…
Ballotpedia's 2024 study of competitiveness in state executive official elections found that 45.1% of incumbents (74 incumbents across 164 seats) did not seek re-election, leaving those seats open. That was above the average rate of open state executive seats from 2011-2023 (35.7%). Every year, Ballotpedia publishes an annual report on the competitiveness of state executive…

The number of incumbents running in this year's state executive elections—20—is the fewest in the past four cycles for these offices. These are the 36 executive positions that voters decide in three states—Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi—in the year prior to each presidential election. The number of incumbents running for re-election for these offices has declined…

Forty-four states have single-party control of state executive offices as of June 2023, which is up from 30 in 2010. When a single party controls the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, it is known as a state government triplex. If a state does not have all three triplex offices, Ballotpedia considers…