A governorship is the position or office of being a governor, a leader who runs a state, province, or region. In the United States, governors are elected leaders of individual states. When someone wins the governorship of Texas or California, they become responsible for leading that state's government, signing bills into law, and managing the state's budget and services. Many other countries also have governors who lead regions or provinces.

The word can also refer to the period of time someone serves as governor. You might read that “during her governorship, the state built new schools and improved its parks.”

Governors have real power to shape the areas they lead: they propose budgets, decide whether to sign or veto laws, and lead responses to emergencies like hurricanes or wildfires. In the United States, many presidents first served as governors, including Franklin Roosevelt (New York), Ronald Reagan (California), and Bill Clinton (Arkansas).