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Which states had Republican governors in 2025?
Executive Summary
The available data show Republican governors numbered 27 heading into the 2025 election cycle and fell to 25 after the two 2025 gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, producing an even split of 25 Republican and 25 Democratic governors after those results were reported [1]. Sources compiled during late 2024 through November 2025 provide partial lists and a downloadable chart that together allow reconstruction of which states had Republican governors in 2025, though some sources predate the final November outcomes and require cross-checking [2] [3].
1. What the headline numbers say — a shifting majority that ended even
The quantitative claim across multiple reports is straightforward: 27 Republican governors were reported as in office at the start of 2025, and two Democratic pickups in the 2025 cycle reduced that number to 25, producing parity with 25 Democratic governors [1]. Ballotpedia-style tallies presented on and around November 1–7, 2025, document this change by naming the two 2025 Democratic winners — Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia — as the drivers of the net shift [1]. These tallies reflect the post-election partisan balance of governorships and are consistent across independent rollups published in early November 2025, though some state-level lists that were compiled in late 2024 still show the pre-election 27-23 split and must be updated to reflect the November results [2] [4].
2. Which states were identified as Republican-governed in the sources
Several sources provide explicit or partial lists of states with Republican governors as of late 2024 and mid-2025; the commonly listed Republican-governed states include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming, among others cited in the mid-2025 rollups [2] [4]. Those state-level listings were compiled before the November 2025 contests and therefore may omit the two Democratic flips; they remain useful for reconstructing the roster of Republican governors but require reconciliation with the November 2025 election results report that reduced the GOP count to 25 [2] [1].
3. How to reconcile earlier listings with the post-election balance
The discrepancy between a December 2024 snapshot (showing 27 Republicans) and the November 2025 post-election accounting (showing 25 Republicans) is explained by the two gubernatorial elections held in 2025; both produced Democratic winners who flipped seats previously held or projected as Republican, which directly accounts for the net loss of two Republican governors [1]. Sources that publish static lists or charts dated before November 2025 will therefore show the pre-flip partisan configuration; contemporaneous resources updated on or after November 1–7, 2025 present the corrected 25–25 split [3] [1].
4. Source quality, dates and potential agendas to watch
The primary data come from election rollups and state-by-state governor lists published between December 2024 and early November 2025; dates matter: pre-November lists retain the 27-GOP count, while post-November reports reflect the two Democratic pickups and the 25–25 split [2] [1]. Ballotpedia-style resources are aggregation-focused and aim for comprehensive factual tallies, but political outlets and advocacy-linked compilations can emphasize narrative frames — for example, highlighting GOP losses or Democratic gains — so cross-referencing multiple independent rollups is necessary to avoid agenda-driven omissions [1] [4].
5. What remains to verify and how to confirm the full state roster
To produce an authoritative, state-by-state list of which specific states had Republican governors for the entirety of 2025, consult the downloadable “2025 Governors and Legislatures” chart updated in late October/early November 2025 and cross-check individual state inaugurations and certified election results for any special elections or successions [3] [1]. Using the chart plus state government pages will reconcile the mid-cycle roster changes; the sources cited here provide the crucial counts and identify the two November flips, but assembling the final, explicit list requires combining the late-2024 state lists with the November 2025 election outcomes to reflect the post-election 25 Republican-governed states [2] [1].