The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.–based 527 organization founded in 1961, consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. Its primary objective is to help elect and support Republican governors.
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.
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 PastTook officeCurrent termKay Ivey Alabama List2017Second term (term-limited in 2026)Mike Dunleavy AlaskaList2018Second term (term-limited in 2026)Sarah Huckabee Sanders ArkansasList2023First term Ron DeSantis FloridaList2019Second term (term-limited in 2026)Brian Kemp GeorgiaList2019Second term (term-limited in 2026)Brad Little IdahoList2019Second termMike Braun IndianaList2025First termKim Reynolds IowaList2017Second term (elected to first full term in 2018)Jeff Landry LouisianaList2024First term Tate Reeves MississippiList2020Second term (term-limited in 2027)Mike Kehoe MissouriList2025 First termGreg Gianforte MontanaList2021First termJim Pillen NebraskaList2023First term Joe Lombardo NevadaList2023First termKelly AyotteList2025First term (two-year term)Kelly Armstrong North DakotaList2024First term Mike DeWine OhioList2019Second term (term-limited in 2026)Kevin Stitt OklahomaList2019Second term (term-limited in 2026)Henry McMaster South CarolinaList2017Second term (elected to first full term in 2018; term-limited in 2026)Larry Rhoden South DakotaList2025First term Bill Lee TennesseeList2019Second term (term-limited in 2026)Greg Abbott TexasList2015 Third termSpencer Cox UtahList2021Second termPhil Scott VermontList2017Fifth term (two-year term)Patrick Morrisey West VirginiaList2025First termMark Gordon WyomingList2019Second 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 governorTerritoryPastTook officeCurrent term American SamoaList2025First term Puerto RicoList2025First term
List of RGA chairs TermChairState1963–1966Robert E. Smylie Idaho1966–1967John Love Colorado1967–1968John Chafee Rhode Island1968–1969Ronald Reagan California1969–1970Raymond P. Shafer Pennsylvania1970–1971Louie Nunn Kentucky1971–1972William Milliken Michigan1972–1973Linwood Holton Virginia1973–1974Winfield Dunn Tennessee1974–1975Kit Bond Missouri1975–1976Arch Moore West Virginia1976–1977Robert Bennett Kansas1977–1978Robert Ray Iowa1978–1979Otis Bowen Indiana1979–1980Richard Snelling Vermont1980–1981John Dalton Virginia1981–1982Jim Thompson Illinois1982–1983Robert Orr Indiana1983–1984Vic Atiyeh Oregon1984–1985Dick Thornburgh Pennsylvania1985–1986John Sununu New Hampshire1986–1987Tom Kean New Jersey1987–1988Mike Castle Delaware1988–1989Mike Hayden Kansas1989–1990John Ashcroft Missouri1990–1991Carroll Campbell South Carolina1991–1992Tommy Thompson Wisconsin1992–1993George Voinovich Ohio1993–1994Jock McKernan Maine1994–1995Mike Leavitt Utah1995–1996John Engler Michigan1996–1997Terry Branstad Iowa1997–1998David Beasley South Carolina1998–1999Frank Keating Oklahoma1999–2000Ed Schafer North Dakota2000–2001Jim Gilmore Virginia2001Tom Ridge Pennsylvania2001–2002John Rowland Connecticut2002–2003Bill Owens Colorado2003–2004Bob Taft Ohio2004–2005Kenny Guinn Nevada2005–2006Mitt Romney Massachusetts2006–2007Sonny Perdue Georgia2007–2008Rick Perry Texas2008–2009Mark Sanford South Carolina2009–2010Haley Barbour Mississippi2010–2011Rick Perry Texas2011–2012Bob McDonnell Virginia2012–2013Bobby Jindal Louisiana2013–2014Chris Christie New Jersey2014–2015Bill Haslam Tennessee2015–2016Susana Martinez New Mexico2016–2017Scott Walker Wisconsin2017–2018Bill Haslam Tennessee2018–2019Pete Ricketts Nebraska2019–2020Greg Abbott Texas2020–2021Doug Ducey Arizona2021–2022Doug DuceyPete Ricketts Arizona Nebraska2022–2023Kim Reynolds Iowa2023–2024Bill Lee Tennessee2024–2025Brian Kemp Georgia2025–presentGreg Gianforte Montana
Executive directors TermDirector1963–1964Robert McCall1966Carl McMurray1967–1969Richard Fleming1971–1975Buehl Berentson1976–1980Ralph Griffith1980–1981Ronald Rietdorf1981John Stevens1982–1985Carol Whitney1985–1991Michele Davis1991–1995Chris Henick1995–1996Paul Hatch1996LeAnne Wilson1997Brian Kennedy1997–2000Clinton Key2000–2001Michael McSherry2001Duncan Campbell2001–2002Clinton Key2002–2004Edward Tobin2004–2005Mike Pieper2005–2006Phillip Musser2006–2011Nick Ayers2011–2014Phil Cox2014–2018Paul Bennecke2019–2022Dave Rexrode2023–presentSara Craig Gongol
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.
In 2017, it sponsored a website The Free Telegraph to promote issues from the perspective of Republicans.
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. This marked the first time Montana elected a Republican governor in 16 years. 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.
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 governorships and lost all territorial governorships.
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 took 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).
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.
References
External links
Contributors and Expenditures at OpenSecrets