Governor of Pennsylvania

State Executives
Current Governors
Gubernatorial Elections
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Current Lt. Governors
Lt. Governor Elections
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	Pennsylvania Governor
	; ; ;
	General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$213,026
2024 FY Budget:	$8,139,000
Term limits:	Two consecutive terms
	Structure
Length of term:	4 years
Authority:	Pennsylvania Constitution, Article IV, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
	Current Officeholder
	Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro; Democratic Party; Assumed office: January 17, 2023
	Elections
Next election:	November 3, 2026
Last election:	November 8, 2022
	Other Pennsylvania Executive Offices
	Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch and the highest state office in Pennsylvania. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two consecutive terms.^[1]

Pennsylvania has a divided government where neither party holds a trifecta. The Democratic Party controls the office of governor and the lower chamber of the state legislature, while the Republican Party controls the upper chamber of the state legislature.

Pennsylvania has a divided government where neither party holds a triplex. The Democratic Party controls the offices of governor and attorney general, while the Republican Party controls the office of secretary of state.

See also: Pennsylvania State Legislature, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Pennsylvania State Senate

Current officer

The 48th and current governor is Josh Shapiro, a Democrat elected in 2022. Shapiro began his first term in office on January 17, 2023, succeeding Democrat Tom Wolf.

Authority

The state Constitution addresses the office of the governor in Article IV, the Executive Department.

Under Article IV, Section 2:

The supreme executive power shall be vested in the Governor...^[1]

Qualifications

A candidate for the governor must be:

a citizen of the United States
at least 30 years old
a resident of Pennsylvania for at least seven years

Additionally, the governor may not hold Congressional office, any other office under the Commonwealth, or any federal office. The exception is that the governor may be a reserve member of the National Guard.^[1]

Vacancies

See also: How gubernatorial vacancies are filled

Details of vacancy appointments are addressed under Article IV, Section 13 and 14.

If the office of Governor becomes vacant through death, resignation, or conviction on impeachment, the Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor for the remainder of the term; if the office is only temporarily vacant due to disability of the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor only acts out the duties of Governor.

Should both offices be vacant, the president pro tempore of the Senate becomes Governor. The position of Lieutenant Governor was created in the 1874 state constitution; prior to then, the Speaker of the Senate would act as governor in cases of vacancy.

Duties

The Governor is the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces (§ 7). The governor has a duty to enforce state laws (§ 2), the power to approve or veto bills passed by the Pennsylvania Legislature subject to a two-thirds override (§ 15), and to convene the legislature for extraordinary sessions (§ 12).

The governor may grant pardons, reprieves, and commutations except in cases of impeachment, but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons (§ 9). The Board of Pardons consists of the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, and three gubernatorial appointees, each of whom must be confirmed by a two-third vote of the Senate and who serve a six year term.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Appointing the Secretary of Education and all other offices not otherwise provided for, subject to the advice and two-third consent of the Senate (§ 8)

Requiring written information from the head of any executive department on any aspect of that department's work (§ 10)

Periodically addressing the General Assembly on the state of the state and making recommendation for legislation (§ 11)

Adjourning the legislature when the body cannot agree to do so itself, for a period not to exceed four months (§ 12)

Convening the Senate by special proclamation for the purposes of transacting executive business (§ 13)

Vetoing appropriation bills, subject to legislative override (§ 16)

Signing and sealing, with "The Great Seal of the State of Pennsylvania," all commissions granted by the state of Pennsylvania (§ 19)^[1]

Elections

Pennsylvania state government organizational chart

Pennsylvania elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not presidential election years. For Pennsylvania, 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030, and 2034 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for the third Tuesday in the January following an election.

In the event of a tie, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots to choose the governor from the two top vote getters.

If an election's outcome is contested, the members of both chambers of the legislature shall select members of the special Commission to resolve the contest.^[1]

Term limits

See also: States with gubernatorial term limits

Pennsylvania governors are restricted to two consecutive terms in office, after which they must wait one term before being eligible to run again.

Pennsylvania Constitution, Article IV, Section 3

Except for the Governor who may be in office when this amendment is adopted, he shall be eligible to succeed himself for one additional term.^[1]

Partisan composition

The chart below shows the partisan breakdown of Pennsylvania governors from 1992 to 2013.

2022

See also: Pennsylvania gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Governor of Pennsylvania

Josh Shapiro defeated Doug Mastriano, Matt Hackenburg, Christina Digiulio, and Joseph Soloski in the general election for Governor of Pennsylvania on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Josh Shapiro (D)	56.5	3,031,137
	Doug Mastriano (R)	41.7	2,238,477
	Matt Hackenburg (L)	1.0	51,611
	Christina Digiulio (G)	0.5	24,436
	Joseph Soloski (Keystone Party of Pennsylvania)	0.4	20,518

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,366,179
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Eddie Wenrich (Independent)
Christina Olson (Green Party of Pennsylvania)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Pennsylvania

Josh Shapiro advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Pennsylvania on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Josh Shapiro	100.0	1,227,151

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,227,151
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Tega Swann (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Pennsylvania

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Pennsylvania on May 17, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Doug Mastriano	43.8	591,240
	Lou Barletta	20.3	273,252
	Bill McSwain	15.8	212,886
	David White	9.6	129,058
	Melissa Hart	4.1	54,752
	Joe Gale	2.1	27,920
	Jake Corman III (Unofficially withdrew)	1.9	26,091
	Charlie Gerow	1.3	17,922
	Nche Zama	1.2	16,238

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,349,359
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates