Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system and computer program product for de-centralized nodal failover handling in a high availability computing architecture. The system can include multiple different nodes coupled to one another in a cluster over a computer communications network including an initial lead node and remaining auxiliary nodes. The system further can include a messaging service coupled to each of the nodes and nodal failover handling logic coupled to each of the nodes and to the messaging service. The logic can include program code enabled to periodically receive heartbeat messages from the messaging service for the initial lead node and to subsequently detect a lapse in the heartbeat messages, to post within a message to the messaging service a request to become a replacement lead node in response to detecting the lapse in the heartbeat messages, and to periodically post heartbeat messages to the messaging service as the replacement lead node for the initial lead node.