Title of Government Officials

Typical Format

It’s best to write the title of the government official before the official’s name. This lets your reader know what the government official’s position is early on. When the title is written before the subject’s name, capitalize the subject’s job title. Please see the examples below.

• Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is the county’s executive.
• Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will attend the parade.
• President Joe Biden delivered his first state of the union address.

If you refer to the government official’s job title alone, don’t capitalize it. You may want to refer to the government official’s title alone when you refer to the same person multiple times in your story for variety.

• The county judge approved another budget increase.
• The city mayor congratulated the Houston Astros at the championship parade.
• The president addressed the press and responded multiple questions.

Abbreviations

The following titles of government officials are abbreviated and capitalized only if followed immediately by the official’s name.

Titles	Abbreviations Singular	Abbreviations Plural	Examples
Representatives (State and U.S.)	Rep.	Reps.	U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted about her experience. The law is supported by state Reps. Ed Gator and Allen Gator.
Senators	Sen.	Sens.	Republican Sen. Ted Cruz was born in Cuba. Sens. Janice Sample and Rose Art introduced the bill.
Governor	Gov.	Govs.	Gov. Greg Abbott reversed mask mandate in 2020. The meeting was led by Govs. Tim Altoy and Jerry Sims.
Lieutenant governor	Lt. Gov.	Lt. Govs.	The bill was briefly mentioned by Lt. Gov. Van Matrick. The bill is supported by Louisiana Lt. Governor Shawn Tank and Texas Lt. Governor How To.