Inside the Governor’s Mansions That Will Soon Be Home to 19 Newly Elected Leaders

See where Gina Hinojosa, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Deb Haaland, and more will live come JanuaryThe Govenor’s Mansion in California.Photo: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn January, the United States’ 19 newly elected governors won’t just have inauguration day on their calendars, but moving day, too. All but five states have governor’s mansions for their leaders to live and work from, with the exceptions being Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These executive residences tend to be grand in style and scale, often possessing a long, rich history—even some haunted ones.Sometimes, governors forego their official residences in favor of privately owned homes. For example, California governor Gavin Newsom recently listed the $7.5 million Fair Oaks home he lived in instead of the official executive residence, a 19th-century Victorian in Sacramento. Montana’s governor’s mansion is currently empty and in disrepair, while a governor hasn’t inhabited the official residence in Nebraska in over a decade.Most states, however, have longstanding traditions of their leaders living in their official governor’s mansions. Virginia has the oldest continuously inhabited executive residence—every governor has lived there since 1813. If our new league of governors opts for tradition, here’s where they will be resting their heads for the next few years.Alabama: Tommy TubervillePhoto: Ron and Patty Thomas/Getty ImagesRepublican Tommy Tuberville won Alabama’s gubernatorial race and will be able to move into a 119-year-old mansion in Montgomery following his inauguration. Built in 1907 by architect T. Weatherly Carter, the 17-room neoclassical residence features a row of four Corinthian columns at its front entrance, which opens to a foyer with a grand bifurcated staircase.California: Xavier BecerraThe Govenor’s Mansion in California.Photo: Bloomberg/Getty ImagesCalifornia’s new governor-elect is democrat Xavier Becerra, who will soon reside at a three-story Victorian in Sacramento. Built in 1877, the 20,000-square-foot house was thoroughly renovated in 2015, decades after Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s brief stint living there in 1967 before deeming it uninhabitable. The mansion was then used as a museum until its 2015 update, when it became home to the state’s governors once again. It has 30 rooms, Italian marble fireplaces, original wood floors, and a kidney-shaped swimming pool.Colorado: Phil WeiserPhoto: River North Photography/Getty ImagesIn Denver, democrat Phil Weiser will receive the keys to the red brick governor’s mansion known as Colorado’s Home. Built in 1908, it has been the state’s official governor’s residence since 1960. The Colonial Revival–style home has 27 rooms and shares its one-acre grounds with gardens, a historic gazebo, a greenhouse, and a carriage house. Thanks to John Hickenlooper, governor from 2011 to 2019, the home also has a rotating selection of local beers on tap.Florida: Byron DonaldsPhoto: Bettmann/Getty ImagesRepublican Byron Donalds just made history as Florida’s first Black governor. The state’s Greek Revival–style governor’s mansion in Tallahassee was completed in 1956 on the site of the original governor’s mansion built in 1907, which had fallen into disrepair. A screened swimming pool, a greenhouse, and a rose garden are among its amenities.Georgia: Keisha Lance BottomsPhoto: Bettmann/Getty ImagesDemocrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has the distinction of being the first Black woman governor-elect in the United States. Her soon-to-be residence in Atlanta is a 30-room Greek Revival mansion that was built in 1967 by architect A. Thomas Bradbury. Across three levels, it measures in at 30,000 square feet.Iowa: Rob SandPhoto: VisionsofAmerica/Joe Sohm/Getty ImagesIowa’s governor’s mansion, known as Terrace Hill, will soon be home to democrat Rob Sand. Dating all the way back to 1869, Terrace Hill is an 18,000-square-foot Second Empire–style residence in Des Moines where Iowa’s governors have lived since 1976. Its first two floors are open to the public as a museum and events space.Maine: Hannah PingreePhoto: Ark NeymanDemocrat Hannah Pingree will move into the Blaine House in Augusta, Maine. Originally built in 1833 in a combination of Federal and Greek Revival styles, the mansion has been the state’s official governor’s residence since 1919, when renovations gave it a more Colonial style. It has 28 rooms across two stories, including a billiards room. The property also hosts a formal garden and a tennis court.Michigan: Jocelyn BensonPhoto: Rey Del Rio/Getty ImagesIn Michigan, democrat Jocelyn Benson has the good fortune of governing a state with two official executive residences: one in the state’s capital of Lansing, and an official summer residence on Mackinac Island. The former is a 1957-built 8,700-square-foot ranch-style home with five bedrooms and four bathrooms; the latter is an Arts-and-Crafts-style mansion that was built in 1901.Minnesota: Amy KlobucharPhoto: Wikimedia CommonsDemocrat Amy Klobuchar, currently a US senator for Minnesota, won her state’s gubernatorial election and will move into a 16,000-square-foot residence in St. Paul that dates to 1912. It features seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and nine fireplaces. Architect William Channing Whitney designed the stone-and-brick dwelling in a combination of English Tudor and Beaux-Arts styles.Nevada: Aaron FordPhoto: benedek/Getty ImagesNevada also elected its first Black governor, democrat Aaron Ford, who will soon reside in a Classical Revival–style mansion designed by architect George A. Ferris in 1909. It features a grand entrance hall, a reception room, a formal dining room, a governor’s study, and a luncheon room, in addition to private living quarters.New Mexico: Deb HaalandPhoto: Getty ImagesNew Mexico’s governor-elect, democrat Deb Haaland, has made history as the first Native American woman to hold that title. In Santa Fe, the governor’s mansion is referred to as The People’s House. Designed by architect W.C. Kruger, the midcentury-modern structure was completed in 1955.Ohio: Amy ActonPhoto: Bettmann/Getty ImagesDemocrat Amy Acton will be Ohio’s next governor, granting her residency inside a 1925 mansion in Bexley, just outside of Columbus. The Tudor-style home was built by architect Robert Gilmore Hanford, and its grounds boast three acres of extensive gardens, including a “Storybook Trail” inspired by The Tales of Peter Rabbit.Oklahoma: Mike MazzeiPhoto: Getty ImagesRepublican governor-elect Mike Mazzei will be the new steward of Oklahoma’s official governor’s residence in Tulsa. The 14,000-square-foot Dutch Colonial was built in 1928 and has a limestone façade that matches the State Capitol building two blocks away. Uniquely, its grounds boast a swimming pool shaped like Oklahoma, an outdoor kitchen, and a tennis court on the former site of a helipad where President Lyndon B. Johnson landed in 1964.Rhode Island: Helena Buonanno FoulkesHelena Foulkes, a democrat, won the race for Rhode Island’s governor, but she isn’t necessarily going to move out of her current residence any time soon, since the state doesn’t have an official governor’s mansion. Foulkes owns two homes in the state: a $3.8 million eight-bedroom summer house in Narragansett and a $2.3 million three-bedroom home in Providence.South Carolina: Alan WilsonPhoto: Ivy Close Images/Getty ImagesRepublican governor-elect Alan Wilson won South Carolina’s vote, making his next home a two-story Federal-style mansion dating back to 1855. Originally used as military academy officers’ quarters, it has been the official governor’s residence since 1868, three years after the Civil War ended. Inside, it has a central entrance hall connecting to two drawing rooms, a state dining room, and a library. Private living quarters are located on the second floor.Tennessee: Marsha BlackburnPhoto: Brett Carlsen/Getty ImagesMarsha Blackburn, the Republican governor-elect of Tennessee, can move to a 10-acre estate in Nashville’s Oak Hill suburb. Known as Far Hills for the surrounding picturesque views, the three-story Georgian-style mansion was built in 1931. It has been the state’s official governor’s residence since 1949.Texas: Gina HinojosaPhoto: Chris Rogers/Getty ImagesIn Texas, democrat Gina Hinojosa will be the first Latina to hold the state’s highest office. Her official residence will be a Greek Revival–style mansion in Austin. Spanning nearly 10,000 square feet, it has been home to Texas’s governors since it was built in 1856.Wisconsin: David CrowleyPhoto: Corey Coyle / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0Democrat David Crowley won in Wisconsin, making him the first Black governor of the state. The state’s executive residence is a Classical Revival–style mansion located in Madison. Completed in 1928, it has 16,000 square feet of interior living space across three floors, including seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, seven fireplaces, and 10 gardens.Wyoming: Eric BarlowPhoto: Sandra Leidholdt/Getty ImagesRepublican Eric Barlow will soon have access to the governor’s residence near Frontier Park in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 1976, it replaced the state’s former executive residence, which was built in 1905 and is now open as a museum. Available details of the current mansion are sparse, however, and it seems that a new, upgraded version with improved security and functionality may soon be in the works.Katie Schultz is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer who reports on celebrity real estate news and other pop culture-related content for AD. She has previously written for House Digest and the Minnesota Daily. Hailing from small town Minnesota, Katie has a degree in Cinema and Media Studies from the University of ... 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