Significant advances have been made by researchers in our understanding of the determinants of survival of regional governors under large nondemocratic regimes such as Russia or China. However, we know little about subnational politics in authoritarian regimes outside the two largest dictatorships. Drawing from original Armenian data between 2007 and 2021, I study whether governors are rewarded based on their political or economic performance. I find strong support in favour of rewards based on regional election returns for the ruling party. Other factors influence governors’ rewards, such as prime ministerial appointments, coalition governance and prior state careers. However, once the regime is overthrown vote mobilisation no longer has the same effect on governor careers. The thesis develops new theoretical and empirical insights about dominant parties and how ruling elites manage governors in competitive authoritarian regimes. Centred on elections in authoritarian and competitive authoritarian regimes, the thesis develops several hypotheses about rewards received by governors. The argument draws from the politics of Armenia, and focuses on its dominant ruling party and coalition governance since 1991. It then proceeds by discussing the territorial administration and career paths of governors who served in office from 2007. The next two chapters study factors leading to career rewards and the dismissal of governors, and examine strategies undertaken by governors to mobilise votes for the ruling party. The final chapter explores the role of governors in two regions of Armenia – Syunik and Shirak. The findings are based on statistical analyses. It also includes qualitative data, such as interviews with representatives from civil society and political parties, analysis of international and national documents on the conduct of elections and media content. The findings of this thesis have implications for comparative politics scholars working on elections in authoritarian regimes, dominant parties and sub-national elites, and scholars of post-Soviet and Armenian politics.