[5] In the 2014 gubernatorial race, Republican governor Eloy Inos and his running mate, Ralph Torres, were elected to a full four-year term.

[6][7] Victor Hocog, the then-President of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, was sworn in as the new lieutenant governor later that day on December 29.

[2][3] Torres chose Senate President Arnold Palacios as his new running mate for lieutenant governor in 2018 gubernatorial contest.

[10] He selected Dr. Rita Sablan, the former commissioner of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Public School System, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

In response, Governor Torres postponed all elections in the Northern Mariana Islands until Tuesday, November 13, 2018, including the gubernatorial race.