July 19, 2026Methodology v2.1 · Data: BLS, 20102025
Political Grades
government — just the stats

The Governors Index

Every Governor, Graded on What Actually Changed — Against the Other 49.

Not promises. Not party. 16 verified categories — jobs, schools, health, safety and more — each scored on how the state moved on that governor’s watch versus every other state over the same window. Only the change counts, and nationwide shocks cancel out.

ALAKAZARCACOCTDEFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMIMNMSMOMTNENVNHNJNMNYNCNDOHOKORPARISCSDTNTXUTVTVAWAWVWIWY
Trailing peersBeating peersNot yet scored● early read (thin data)

Governors colored by overall score (OVR): the average of their scored category trends vs. the 49-state peer median, in standard deviations. Tap any state. Sources: BLS, CDC, NAEP and the agencies listed per category, through 2025.

The rules can’t see party. 47 Democrats and 53 Republicans hold overall ratings; the gap between party averages is 0.012σ — small enough to be pure chance (89% under our shuffle test). See the full audit →

All 50 Governors, Ranked

Overall rating across 16 verified categories

How to read the overall score (OVR): the average of each governor’s scored category trends vs. the other 49 states, in σ. 0 = moved with the peers; positive beats them, negative trails. An OVR needs at least 3 scored categories.

Swipe the table sideways for more →

No.GovernorOVR (σ)Cats.Unemployment 2005–25In office sincePercentile
1Kevin Stitt (R)Oklahoma+0.4816Jan. 201996
2Tate Reeves (R)Mississippi+0.3616Jan. 202093
3Jared Polis (D)Colorado+0.3016Jan. 201991
4Kathy Hochul (D)New York+0.2512Aug. 202186
5Ned Lamont (D)Connecticut+0.2216Jan. 201983
6Gavin Newsom (D)California+0.1716Jan. 201980
7Phil Scott (R)Vermont+0.1516Jan. 201778
8Mike DeWine (R)Ohio+0.0816Jan. 201975
9Laura Kelly (D)Kansas+0.0516Jan. 201972
10Gretchen Whitmer (D)Michigan+0.0416Jan. 201970
11Tony Evers (D)Wisconsin−0.0116Jan. 201967
12Tim Walz (D)Minnesota−0.0116Jan. 201965
13Henry McMaster (R)South Carolina−0.0416Jan. 201757
14Greg Gianforte (R)Montana−0.0614Jan. 202154
15Greg Abbott (R)Texas−0.1016Jan. 201551
16Kay Ivey (R)Alabama−0.1116April 201749
17Mark Gordon (R)Wyoming−0.1216Jan. 201946
18JB Pritzker (D)Illinois−0.1316Jan. 201943
19Bill Lee (R)Tennessee−0.2216Jan. 201941
20Brad Little (R)Idaho−0.2216Jan. 201938
21Andy Beshear (D)Kentucky−0.2816Dec. 201936
22Ron DeSantis (R)Florida−0.3116Jan. 201933
23Kim Reynolds (R)Iowa−0.3316May 201730
24Dan McKee (D)Rhode Island−0.3612March 202128
25Spencer Cox (R)Utah−0.3814Jan. 202122
26Brian Kemp (R)Georgia−0.4916Jan. 201917
27Janet Mills (D)Maine−0.5116Jan. 201915
28Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)New Mexico−0.6516Jan. 20197
29Mike Dunleavy (R)Alaska−0.8816Dec. 20184
Early reads — every scored category still thin; unranked until the data thickens
Josh Green (D)Hawaii+0.863Dec. 202299
Tina Kotek (D)Oregon+0.283Jan. 202388
Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)Arkansas−0.033Jan. 202362
Joe Lombardo (R)Nevada−0.043Jan. 202359
Maura Healey (D)Massachusetts−0.373Jan. 202325
Katie Hobbs (D)Arizona−0.453Jan. 202320
Josh Shapiro (D)Pennsylvania−0.583Jan. 202312
Jim Pillen (R)Nebraska−0.613Jan. 20239
Wes Moore (D)Maryland−0.903Jan. 20231
Not yet scored — inside the attribution lag
Matt Meyer (D)DelawareToo earlyJan. 2025
Mike Braun (R)IndianaToo earlyJan. 2025
Jeff Landry (R)LouisianaToo earlyJan. 2024
Mike Kehoe (R)MissouriToo earlyJan. 2025
Kelly Ayotte (R)New HampshireToo earlyJan. 2025
Mikie Sherrill (D)New JerseyToo earlyJan. 2026
Josh Stein (D)North CarolinaToo earlyJan. 2025
Kelly Armstrong (R)North DakotaToo earlyDec. 2024
Larry Rhoden (R)South DakotaToo earlyJan. 2025
Abigail Spanberger (D)VirginiaToo earlyJan. 2026
Bob Ferguson (D)WashingtonToo earlyJan. 2025
Patrick Morrisey (R)West VirginiaToo earlyJan. 2025

Reading the board — every category score is a trend over that governor’s own window vs. the other 49 states; the OVR averages the categories a governor has (Cats. column). Zero is an external anchor (the peer median), not the average governor. Sparkline shows the unemployment rate, the longest-running series, its scored window dark.

Ranks & ties — ordinal ranks skip governors whose every category is thin (2-point windows). Neighboring ranks are often a few hundredths of a σ apart — read near-ties as ties. All scores are provisional while terms run. Sources: BLS, CDC, NAEP, and the agencies on each category — every series linked on state pages.

The Story So Far

38 of the nation’s 50 governors have enough verified data for an overall rating under the War Room’s preregistered methodology — the rules, including each category’s direction and lag, were locked before anyone was scored. 12 governors aren’t rated yet: most took office in 2025 or 2026 and sit inside the attribution lag; the rest have fewer than 3 scored categories so far.

The top of the board belongs to Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, in office since Jan. 2019, at +0.48σ across 16 scored categories. At the other end, Mike Dunleavy of Alaska trails the ranked field at −0.88σ across 16 categories. Click either card for every number behind the rating.

Every number on this page can be reproduced from public data — open any governor’s card for the exact series, windows and math, or download the full dataset. 4 of the card’s 20 categories aren’t scored yet — each shows its honest status (in human review, awaiting a defensible rubric, or data pending verification) instead of a number, and adding a category never retroactively rewrites a published methodology version.