Republican Governors Association

Organization of U.S. Republican governors

Republican Governors Association

Chair| Brian Kemp (GA)
Vice Chair| Greg Gianforte (MT)
Policy Chair| Henry McMaster (SC)
Executive Committee| Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AR)
Mike Kehoe (MO)
Bill Lee (TN)
Tate Reeves (MS)
Kim Reynolds (IA)
Kevin Stitt (OK)
Glenn Youngkin (VA)
Founded| 1961; 64 years ago (1961)
Headquarters| 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 250
Washington, DC 20006
Affiliated| Republican Party
State governors|

27 / 50

Territorial governors|

3 / 5

Federal district mayorship|

0 / 1

Website
www.rga.org

* Politics of the United States
* Political parties
* Elections

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, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. In November of that year, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia was elected Chairman, Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana was elected Vice Chairman, and Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina 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

[edit]

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

Current governor | State | Past  | Took office  | Current term

|
|
|
|

Kay Ivey |  Alabama | List | 2017  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Mike Dunleavy |  Alaska | List | 2018  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders |  Arkansas | List | 2023  | First term
Ron DeSantis |  Florida | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Brian Kemp |  Georgia | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Brad Little |  Idaho | List | 2019  | Second term
Mike Braun |  Indiana | List | 2025  | First term
Kim Reynolds |  Iowa | List | 2017  | Second term (elected to first full term in 2018)
Jeff Landry |  Louisiana | List | 2024  | First term
Tate Reeves |  Mississippi | List | 2020  | Second term (term-limited in 2027)
Mike Kehoe |  Missouri | List | 2025  | First term
Greg Gianforte |  Montana | List | 2021  | First term
Jim Pillen |  Nebraska | List | 2023  | First term
Joe Lombardo |  Nevada | List | 2023  | First term
Kelly Ayotte |  New Hampshire | List | 2025  | First term (two-year term)
Kelly Armstrong |  North Dakota | List | 2024  | First term
Mike DeWine |  Ohio | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Kevin Stitt |  Oklahoma | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Henry McMaster |  South Carolina | List | 2017  | Second term (elected to first full term in 2018; term-limited in 2026)
Larry Rhoden |  South Dakota | List | 2025  | First term
Bill Lee |  Tennessee | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)
Greg Abbott |  Texas | List | 2015  | Third term
Spencer Cox |  Utah | List | 2021  | Second term
Phil Scott |  Vermont | List | 2017  | Fourth term (two-year term)
Glenn Youngkin |  Virginia | List | 2022  | First term (term-limited in 2025)
Patrick Morrisey |  West Virginia | List | 2025  | First term
Mark Gordon |  Wyoming | List | 2019  | Second term (term-limited in 2026)

In addition to governors of U.S. states, the RGA also offers membership to Republican governors of U.S. territories.

Current governor  | Territory | Past  | Took office  | Current term

|
|
|
|

Pula Nikolao Pula |  American Samoa | List | 2025  | First term
Arnold Palacios |  Northern Mariana Islands | List | 2023  | First term
Jenniffer González-Colón |  Puerto Rico | List | 2025  | First term

## List of RGA chairs

[edit]

Term  | Chair  | State

|
|

1963–1966  | Robert E. Smylie |  Idaho
1966–1967  | John Love |  Colorado
1967–1968  | John Chafee |  Rhode Island
1968–1970  | Ronald Reagan |  California
1969–1970  | Raymond P. Shafer |  Pennsylvania
1970–1971  | Louie Nunn |  Kentucky
1971–1972  | William Milliken |  Michigan
1972–1973  | Linwood Holton |  Virginia
1973–1974  | Winfield Dunn |  Tennessee
1974–1975  | Kit Bond |  Missouri
1975–1976  | Arch Moore |  West Virginia
1976–1977  | Robert Bennett |  Kansas
1977–1978  | Robert Ray |  Iowa
1978–1979  | Otis Bowen |  Indiana
1979–1980  | Richard Snelling |  Vermont
1980–1981  | John Dalton |  Virginia
1981–1982  | Jim Thompson |  Illinois
1982–1983  | Robert Orr |  Indiana
1983–1984  | Vic Atiyeh |  Oregon
1984–1985  | Dick Thornburgh |  Pennsylvania
1985–1986  | John Sununu |  New Hampshire
1986–1987  | Tom Kean |  New Jersey
1987–1988  | Mike Castle |  Delaware
1988–1989  | Mike Hayden |  Kansas
1989–1990  | John Ashcroft |  Missouri
1990–1991  | Carroll Campbell |  South Carolina
1991–1992  | Tommy Thompson |  Wisconsin
1992–1993  | George Voinovich |  Ohio
1993–1994  | Jock McKernan |  Maine
1994–1995  | Mike Leavitt |  Utah
1995–1996  | John Engler |  Michigan
1996–1997  | Terry Branstad |  Iowa
1997–1998  | David Beasley |  South Carolina
1998–1999  | Frank Keating |  Oklahoma
1999–2000  | Ed Schafer |  North Dakota
2000–2001  | Jim Gilmore |  Virginia
2001  | Tom Ridge |  Pennsylvania
2001–2002  | John Rowland |  Connecticut
2002–2003  | Bill Owens |  Colorado
2003–2004  | Bob Taft |  Ohio
2004–2005  | Kenny Guinn |  Nevada
2005–2006  | Mitt Romney |  Massachusetts
2006–2007  | Sonny Perdue |  Georgia
2007–2008  | Rick Perry |  Texas
2008–2009  | Mark Sanford |  South Carolina
2009–2010  | Haley Barbour |  Mississippi
2010–2011  | Rick Perry |  Texas
2011–2012  | Bob McDonnell |  Virginia
2012–2013  | Bobby Jindal |  Louisiana
2013–2014  | Chris Christie |  New Jersey
2014–2015  | Bill Haslam |  Tennessee
2015–2016  | Susana Martinez |  New Mexico
2016–2017  | Scott Walker |  Wisconsin
2017–2018  | Bill Haslam |  Tennessee
2018–2019  | Pete Ricketts |  Nebraska
2019–2020  | Greg Abbott |  Texas
2020–2021  | Doug Ducey |  Arizona
2021–2022  | Doug Ducey
Pete Ricketts |  Arizona
Nebraska
2022–2023  | Kim Reynolds |  Iowa
2023–2024  | Bill Lee |  Tennessee
2024–present  | Brian Kemp |  Georgia

### Executive directors

[edit]

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
2019–2022  | Dave Rexrode
2023–present  | Sara Craig Gongol

## Election cycles

[edit]

### 2018

[edit]

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

[edit]

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]

### 2022

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 took office in January 2024.

## Fundraising

[edit]

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

[edit]

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. ^ "RGA Announces 2024 Leadership". 7 December 2023.
4. ^ Haslam, Bill (16 May 2016). "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.

## External links

[edit]

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