Colonel William A. Phillips

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The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1961,[1] consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. Its primary objective is to help elect and support Republican governors.[2]

The RGA's Executive Committee for 2024 includes Governors Eric Holcomb of Indiana, Greg Abbott of Texas, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, Tate Reeves of Mississippi, Henry McMaster of South Carolina, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Greg Abbott of Texas, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. Additionally, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee was elected Chairman, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia was elected Vice Chairman, and Governor Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma was elected Policy Chairman.[3]

Its Democratic counterpart is the Democratic Governors Association. The RGA is not directly affiliated with the non-partisan National Governors Association.

List of current Republican governors

All of the following states are members of the Republican Governors Association:

Current governor State Past Took office Current term
Kay Ivey Alabama Alabama List 2017 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Mike Dunleavy Alaska Alaska List 2018 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Arkansas Arkansas List 2023 First term
Ron DeSantis Florida Florida List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Brian Kemp Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Brad Little Idaho Idaho List 2019 Second term
Eric Holcomb Indiana Indiana List 2017 Second term (term-limited in 2024)
Kim Reynolds Iowa Iowa List 2017 Second term (elected to first full term in 2018)
Jeff Landry Louisiana Louisiana List 2024 First term
Tate Reeves Mississippi Mississippi List 2020 Second term (term-limited in 2027)
Mike Parson Missouri Missouri List 2018 First term (elected to first full term in 2020; term-limited in 2024)
Greg Gianforte Montana Montana List 2021 First term
Jim Pillen Nebraska Nebraska List 2023 First term
Joe Lombardo Nevada Nevada List 2023 First term
Chris Sununu New Hampshire New Hampshire List 2017 Fourth term (two-year term; retiring in 2024)
Doug Burgum North Dakota North Dakota List 2016 Second term
Mike DeWine Ohio Ohio List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Kevin Stitt Oklahoma Oklahoma List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Henry McMaster South Carolina South Carolina List 2017 Second term (elected to first full term in 2018; term-limited in 2026)
Kristi Noem South Dakota South Dakota List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Bill Lee Tennessee Tennessee List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Greg Abbott Texas Texas List 2015 Third term
Spencer Cox Utah Utah List 2021 First term
Phil Scott Vermont Vermont List 2017 Fourth term (two-year term)
Glenn Youngkin Virginia Virginia List 2022 First term (term-limited in 2025)
Jim Justice West Virginia West Virginia List 2017 Second term (term-limited in 2024)
Mark Gordon Wyoming Wyoming List 2019 Second term (term-limited in 2026)

List of RGA chairs

Term Chair State
1963–1966 Robert Symlie Idaho Idaho
1966–1967 John Love Colorado Colorado
1967–1968 John Chafee Rhode Island Rhode Island
1968–1970 Ronald Reagan California California
1969–1970 Raymond P. Shafer Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
1970–1971 Louie Nunn Kentucky Kentucky
1971–1972 William Milliken Michigan Michigan
1972–1973 Linwood Holton Virginia Virginia
1973–1974 Winfield Dunn Tennessee Tennessee
1974–1975 Kit Bond Missouri Missouri
1975–1976 Arch Moore West Virginia West Virginia
1976–1977 Robert Bennett Kansas Kansas
1977–1978 Robert Ray Iowa Iowa
1978–1979 Otis Bowen Indiana Indiana
1979–1980 Richard Snelling Vermont Vermont
1980–1981 John Dalton Virginia Virginia
1981–1982 Jim Thompson Illinois Illinois
1982–1983 Robert Orr Indiana Indiana
1983–1984 Vic Atiyeh Oregon Oregon
1984–1985 Dick Thornburgh Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
1985–1986 John Sununu New Hampshire New Hampshire
1986–1987 Tom Kean New Jersey New Jersey
1987–1988 Mike Castle Delaware Delaware
1988–1989 Mike Hayden Kansas Kansas
1989–1990 John Ashcroft Missouri Missouri
1990–1991 Carroll Campbell South Carolina South Carolina
1991–1992 Tommy Thompson Wisconsin Wisconsin
1992–1993 George Voinovich Ohio Ohio
1993–1994 Jock McKernan Maine Maine
1994–1995 Mike Leavitt Utah Utah
1995–1996 John Engler Michigan Michigan
1996–1997 Terry Branstad Iowa Iowa
1997–1998 David Beasley South Carolina South Carolina
1998–1999 Frank Keating Oklahoma Oklahoma
1999–2000 Ed Schafer North Dakota North Dakota
2000–2001 Jim Gilmore Virginia Virginia
2001 Tom Ridge Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
2001–2002 John Rowland Connecticut Connecticut
2002–2003 Bill Owens Colorado Colorado
2003–2004 Bob Taft Ohio Ohio
2004–2005 Kenny Guinn Nevada Nevada
2005–2006 Mitt Romney Massachusetts Massachusetts
2006–2007 Sonny Perdue Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia
2007–2008 Rick Perry Texas Texas
2008–2009 Mark Sanford South Carolina South Carolina
2009–2010 Haley Barbour Mississippi Mississippi
2010–2011 Rick Perry Texas Texas
2011–2012 Bob McDonnell Virginia Virginia
2012–2013 Bobby Jindal Louisiana Louisiana
2013–2014 Chris Christie New Jersey New Jersey
2014–2015 Bill Haslam Tennessee Tennessee
2015–2016 Susana Martinez New Mexico New Mexico
2016–2017 Scott Walker Wisconsin Wisconsin
2017–2018 Bill Haslam Tennessee Tennessee
2018–2019 Pete Ricketts Nebraska Nebraska
2019–2020 Greg Abbott Texas Texas
2020–2021 Doug Ducey Arizona Arizona
2021–2022 Doug Ducey
Pete Ricketts
Arizona Arizona
Nebraska Nebraska
2022–2023 Kim Reynolds Iowa Iowa
2023–present Bill Lee Tennessee Tennessee

Executive directors

Term Director
1963–1964 Robert McCall
1966 Carl McMurray
1967–1969 Richard Fleming
1971–1975 Buehl Berentson
1976–1980 Ralph Griffith
1980–1981 Ronald Rietdorf
1981 John Stevens
1982–1985 Carol Whitney
1985–1991 Michele Davis
1991–1995 Chris Henick
1995–1996 Paul Hatch
1996 LeAnne Wilson
1997 Brian Kennedy
1997–2000 Clinton Key
2000–2001 Michael McSherry
2001 Duncan Campbell
2001–2002 Clinton Key
2002–2004 Edward Tobin
2004–2005 Mike Pieper
2005–2006 Phillip Musser
2006–2011 Nick Ayers
2011–2014 Phil Cox
2014–2018 Paul Bennecke
2019–present Dave Rexrode

Election cycles

2018

36 gubernatorial races occurred during the 2018 election cycle. The elections were held on November 6, 2018, with Republicans losing a net of 7 governorships.[4]

In 2017, it sponsored a website The Free Telegraph to promote issues from the perspective of Republicans.[5]

2020

In the 2020 election cycle, 11 states and two territories held elections for governors. The elections were held on November 3, 2020, with Republicans gaining a net of one governorship, Montana, for state elections.[6] This marked the first time Montana elected a Republican governor in 16 years.[7] Former Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, who was a member of the Republican Governors Association, lost reelection in Puerto Rico, meaning a net loss of one Republican governor for territorial elections.[8] As of 2021, this election meant that only one of five American territories have Republican governors.[citation needed]

2022

36 gubernatorial races occurred during the 2022 election cycle. The elections were held on November 8, 2022, with Republicans losing a net of 2 governor ships and lost all territorial governorships.[citation needed]

2023

3 gubernatorial races occurred during the 2023 election cycle including Louisiana where Republican Jeff Landry was elected to succeed term-limited Democrat John Bel Edwards and is scheduled to take office in January 2024.

Fundraising

In the 18 months ending June 30, 2010, the RGA raised $58 million, while its counterpart DGA raised $40 million. "Unlike the national political parties and federal candidates, the governors' associations can take in unlimited amounts from corporations," according to Bloomberg, which notes that the RGA recently received $1 million from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, the parent corporation of Fox News, and $500,000 from WellPoint (now Anthem).[9]

In 2018, the Republican Governors Association announced that $63.2 million was raised in all of 2017, including $27.2 million raised in the final six months of the year, setting a new fundraising record that significantly eclipses the $52.5 million raised in 2013, the last comparable year.[10]

References

  1. ^ Sparacino, Anthony (2021). "The Democratic and Republican Governors Associations and the Nationalization of American Party Politics, 1961–1968". Studies in American Political Development. 35: 76–103. doi:10.1017/S0898588X20000188. ISSN 0898-588X. S2CID 233359969.
  2. ^ "About the RGA". Archived from the original on 2007-07-27.
  3. ^ https://www.rga.org/rga-announces-2024-leadership/
  4. ^ Haslam, Bill. "RGA". Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  5. ^ Chokshi, Niraj (2017-09-19). "This New G.O.P. Publication Looks a Lot Like a News Website (Published 2017)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  6. ^ "2020 gubernatorial election results". www.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  7. ^ Muvlihill, Geoff (2020-11-03). "Montana goes red; it's status quo in other governor races". WSLS. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  8. ^ Florido, Adrian (2020-08-16). "Puerto Rico's Governor Loses Primary Bid For Full Term". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  9. ^ Salant, Jonathan D. (August 16, 2010). "Republicans See Gains in Governors' Races as Funding Hits Peak". Bloomberg News.
  10. ^ "RGA Breaks Fundraising Records, Brings In $63 Million in 2017" (Press release). Washington, DC: RGA. 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2018-02-19.

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