State executive official elections, 2017
2018→ ←2016 |
 |
November 7, 2017 |
Eight state executive offices were up for election in 2017, including gubernatorial elections inVirginia andNew Jersey. Prior to the election, three of these offices were held byDemocrats and four were held byRepublicans. The remaining position was the nonpartisan position ofWisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The offices
State executives act in many capacities according to the powers granted to them by their state's constitution. They are also charged with implementing and enforcing laws made by state legislatures. There are 748executive seats spread across13 distinct types of offices in the United States.[1] Of the 13 executive offices, only seven exist in all 50 states:governor,attorney general,superintendent of schools,insurance commissioner,agriculture commissioner,labor commissioner andpublic service commissioner.
Othercommon offices includelieutenant governor,secretary of state,treasurer,controller,auditor andnatural resources commissioner.
The governor is the chief executive of a state’s government and other executive offices ordinarily report to him or her. The governor is also the only executive that is elected in all 50 states. Attorneys general, for example,are elected in 43 states but appointed by the governor in seven, while public service commissionersare appointed by the governor in 39 states and elected in 11 states.
Offices up for election
Gubernatorial elections
New Jersey and Virginia held gubernatorial elections in 2017.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, incumbentGov.Chris Christie (R), who served the maximum of two consecutive terms, was prevented from running for re-election. The primary election was held onJune 6, 2017. The Democratic primary was won by former Ambassador to GermanyPhil Murphy. Murphy defeated Tenafly CouncilmanMark Zinna, former Undersecretary of the U.S. TreasuryJim Johnson,AssemblymanJohn Wisniewski,state Sen.Ray Lesniak, and activistBill Brennan. The victor of the Republican primary wasLt. Gov.Kim Guadagno. Guadagno defeatedAssemblymanJack Ciattarelli, businessmanJoseph Rudy Rullo, businessmanHirsh Singh, and Nutley CommissionerSteve Rogers. Murphy and Guadagno competed in theNovember 7, 2017, general election, alongsideGreen Party nomineeSeth Kaper-Dale,Libertarian Party nomineePeter Rohrman,Constitution Party candidateMatt Riccardi, and independent candidatesVincent Ross andGina Genovese.
At stake wasNew Jersey'strifecta and triplex status. Heading into the 2017 election, New Jersey had aRepublican governor andDemocratic majorities in both houses of thestate Legislature, meaning the state was underdivided government.Phil Murphy's victory in the gubernatorial election led to the creation of a Democratic trifecta, while victory for a non-Democratic candidate would have maintained the state's divided government status. Meanwhile, because thegovernor has the power to appoint theattorney general andsecretary of state, the state's triplex status depends only on the governor's party. Heading into the 2017 election,New Jersey was aRepublican triplex. Murphy's victory replaced the Republican triplex with a Democratic triplex.
Virginia
In Virginia, incumbentGov.Terry McAuliffe (D) was prevented from running for re-election. At the time of the 2017 elections, Virginia was the only state to prevent governors from serving consecutive terms. The primary election was held onJune 13, 2017. In the Democratic primary,Lt. Gov.Ralph Northam defeated formerRep.Tom Perriello. In the Republican primary, formerRepublican National Committee chairmanEd Gillespie defeatedPrince William County Board of Supervisors ChairmanCorey Stewart andstate Sen.Frank Wagner. Northam and Gillespie competed in theNovember 7, 2017, general election. TheLibertarian Party nominee was attorneyCliff Hyra.
Virginia'strifecta and triplex status was at stake in the election. Heading into the 2017 election, Virginia had aDemocratic governor andRepublican majorities in both houses of thestate Legislature, meaning the state was underdivided government. ARepublican victory in the gubernatorial election would have created a Republican trifecta, whileNortham's victory maintained the state's divided government status. Meanwhile, because thegovernor,attorney general, andsecretary of state were members of theDemocratic Party, Virginia was aDemocratic triplex. In Virginia, thesecretary of state is appointed by thegovernor, meaning that the state's triplex status was determined by the results of thegubernatorial andattorney general elections. In order to maintain triplex control of the state, Democrats needed to win both elections.Republican victory in both elections would have created a Republican triplex, while a split result would have led to divided triplex control. Since Democrats won both the gubernatorial and attorney general races, they kept triplex control in Virginia.
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
New Jersey and Virginia held lieutenant gubernatorial elections in 2017.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, the lieutenant gubernatorial race was part of the gubernatorial race. Candidates forGovernor of New Jersey were required to choose a running mate no later than 30 days after the official primary election results were certified. The winning gubernatorial candidate's running mate would becomeLieutenant Governor of New Jersey.[2] The incumbent,Lt. Gov.Kim Guadagno (R), ran forgovernor in 2017, leaving the seat open.Phil Murphy's victory meant that his running mateSheila Oliver (D) was elected lieutenant governor.
Virginia
In Virginia, the lieutenant gubernatorial race was separate from the gubernatorial race. IncumbentLt. Gov.Ralph Northam (D) chose not to seek re-election in order to run forgovernor, leaving the seat open. The primary election was held onJune 13, 2017. In the Democratic primary, former prosecutorJustin Fairfax defeated political consultantSusan Platt and former Assistant U.S. AttorneyGene Rossi. In the Republican primary,state Sen.Jill Holtzman Vogel defeatedstate Sen.Bryce Reeves andDel.Glenn Davis. Fairfax and Vogel competed in theNovember 7, 2017, general election, which was won byJustin Fairfax (D).
Other offices
Four other state executive offices were on the ballot in 2017:Louisiana State Treasurer,Louisiana Public Service Commission,Attorney General of Virginia, andWisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Louisiana State Treasurer
In Louisiana's2016 Senate election then-currenttreasurerJohn Neely Kennedy (R) was elected to theU.S. Senate. Louisiana state law calls for a special election to fill the position, which was scheduled for 2017. Louisiana utilizes anopen primary system, in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot in a primary election. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, they win the election outright. Otherwise, the top two candidates advance to a general election. The primary election was held onOctober 14, 2017. A general election was held onNovember 18, 2017. Six candidates appeared on the primary ballot:Derrick Edwards (D),Neil Riser (R),John Schroder (R),Angele Davis (R),Terry Hughes (R), andJoseph D. Little (L). Edwards and Schroder advanced to the general election on November 18, where Schroder defeated Edwards to secure election as treasurer.
Louisiana Public Service Commission
On May 23, 2017,Scott Angelle (R) was appointed byPresidentDonald Trump to a federal position, leaving a vacancy on theLouisiana Public Service Commission. A special election was called to fill the position and was scheduled for the same date as thetreasurer special election. Louisiana utilizes anopen primary system, in which all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, appear on the same ballot in a primary election. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, they win the election outright. Otherwise, the top two candidates advance to a general election. The primary election was held onOctober 14, 2017.Damon Baldone (R),Lenar Whitney (R), andCraig Greene (R) ran for the seat. Greene won the primary election outright.
Attorney General of Virginia
In Virginia, sittingAttorney GeneralMark Herring (D) sought re-election. Herring was opposed by attorneyJohn Adams (R). Both candidates were unopposed in theJune 13, 2017 primary election. Prior toHerring's 2013 election to the position, the last time a Democrat had been electedAttorney General of Virginia was 1989. The general election was held onNovember 7, 2017 and was won byMark Herring (D).
Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
In Wisconsin, a nonpartisan election was held to select thestate superintendent, with incumbentTony Evers seeking a third four-year term. Wisconsin utilizes anopen primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot in a primary election, with the top two candidates advancing to a general election. In theFebruary 21, 2017, primary election,SuperintendentTony Evers and former district superintendentLowell Holtz advanced, defeating former school administratorJohn Humphries and high school teacherRick Melcher. Evers defeated Holtz in theApril 4, 2017, general election.
| Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, General Election, 2017 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Tony EversIncumbent | 70% | 494,846 | |
| Lowell Holtz | 30% | 212,536 | |
| Total Votes | 707,382 | ||
| Source:WisconsinVote.org, "Current election results," accessed April 4, 2017 | |||
By office
Governor
Lieutenant governor
Attorney general
Superintendent of schools
Treasurer
Public Service Commissioner
By state
Louisiana
New Jersey
Virginia
Wisconsin
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the termsState executive elections 2017. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
2017 elections: | Previous elections: | Ballotpedia exclusives: |
Footnotes
- ↑There are 13 state executive offices as Ballotpediadefines the term, however there are other executive offices in some states that are not covered by Ballotpedia.
- ↑NJ.com, "Who will be the running mates for N.J. governor candidates Murphy and Guadagno?" June 12, 2017
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
