 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
34 governorships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Democratic hold Democratic gain Republican hold Republican gain No election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1958, in 34 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections, on November 4, 1958 (September 8 in Maine, November 25 in Alaska). Alaska held its first gubernatorial election on achieving statehood.
In Colorado, Maine and Ohio, the governor was elected to a 4-year term for the first time, instead of a 2-year term.
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Jim Folsom | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | John Malcolm Patterson (Democratic) 88.22% William Longshore (Republican) 11.44% William Jackson (Independent) 0.34% [1] |
| Alaska (Held, 25 November 1958) | New state | William A. Egan (Democratic) 59.61% John Butrovich (Republican) 39.41% Mike Dollinter (Independent) 0.98% [2] | ||
| Arizona | Ernest McFarland | Democratic | Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Republican victory | Paul Fannin (Republican) 55.13% Robert Morrison (Democratic) 44.87% [3] |
| Arkansas | Orval Faubus | Democratic | Re-elected, 82.47% | George W. Johnson (Republican) 17.53% [4] |
| California | Goodwin Knight | Republican | Retired to run for U.S. Senate, Democratic victory | Pat Brown (Democratic) 59.75% William Knowland (Republican) 40.16% William Potter Gale (Independent) 0.04% Scattering 0.05% [5] |
| Colorado | Stephen McNichols | Democratic | Re-elected, 58.41% | Palmer L. Burch (Republican) 41.59% [6] |
| Connecticut | Abraham Ribicoff | Democratic | Re-elected, 62.29% | Fred R. Zeller (Republican) 37.01% Jasper McLevy (Socialist) 0.70% [7] |
| Georgia | Marvin Griffin | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Ernest Vandiver (Democratic) unopposed in the general election. (Democratic primary results) Ernest Vandiver 80.51% William T. Bodenhamer 14.16% Lee Roy Abernathy 5.34% [8] |
| Idaho | Robert E. Smylie | Republican | Re-elected, 50.96% | Alfred M. Derr (Democratic) 49.04% [9] |
| Iowa | Herschel C. Loveless | Democratic | Re-elected, 54.13% | William G. Murray (Republican) 45.87% [10] |
| Kansas | George Docking | Democratic | Re-elected, 56.46% | Clyde M. Reed, Jr. (Republican) 42.54% Warren C. Martin (Prohibition) 1.01% [11] |
| Maine (Held, 8 September 1958) | Edmund Muskie | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Clinton Clauson (Democratic) 51.99% Horace Hildreth (Republican) 48.01% [12] |
| Maryland | Theodore McKeldin | Republican | Term-limited, Democratic victory | J. Millard Tawes (Democratic) 63.55% James Devereux (Republican) 36.45% [13] |
| Massachusetts | Foster Furcolo | Democratic | Re-elected, 56.19% | Charles Gibbons (Republican) 43.10% Henning A. Blomen (Socialist Labor) 0.41% Guy S. Williams (Prohibition) 0.30% [14] |
| Michigan | G. Mennen Williams | Democratic | Re-elected, 53.00% | Paul Douglas Bagwell (Republican) 46.63% Ralph Muncy (Socialist Labor) 0.17% Rollin M. Severance (Prohibition) 0.16% Frank Lovell (Socialist Workers) 0.04% [15] |
| Minnesota | Orville Freeman | DFL | Re-elected, 56.76% | George MacKinnon (Republican) 42.31% Arne Anderson (Industrial Government) 0.94% [16] |
| Nebraska | Victor E. Anderson | Republican | Defeated, 49.80% | Ralph G. Brooks (Democratic) 50.19% Scattering 0.00% [17] |
| Nevada | Charles H. Russell | Republican | Defeated, 40.08% | Grant Sawyer (Democratic) 59.92% [18] |
| New Hampshire | Lane Dwinell | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Wesley Powell (Republican) 51.65% Bernard L. Boutin (Democratic) 48.35% [19] |
| New Mexico | Edwin L. Mechem | Republican | Defeated, 49.53% | John Burroughs (Democratic) 50.47% [20] |
| New York | W. Averell Harriman | Democratic | Defeated, 44.71% | Nelson Rockefeller (Republican) 54.74% John T. McManus (Independent Socialist) 0.55% [21] |
| North Dakota | John E. Davis | Republican | Re-elected, 53.10% | John F. Lord (D-NPL) 46.90% [22] |
| Ohio | C. William O'Neill | Republican | Defeated, 43.08% | Michael DiSalle (Democratic) 56.92% [23] |
| Oklahoma | Raymond D. Gary | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | J. Howard Edmondson (Democratic) 74.14% Phil Ferguson (Republican) 19.95% D. A. "Jelly" Bryce (Independent) 5.91% [24] |
| Oregon | Robert D. Holmes | Democratic | Defeated, 44.66% | Mark Hatfield (Republican) 55.32% Scattering 0.03% [25] |
| Pennsylvania | George M. Leader | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | David L. Lawrence (Democratic) 50.79% Arthur T. McGonigle (Republican) 48.88% Herman A. Johansen (Socialist Labor) 0.22% Eloise Fickland (Workers) 0.11% [26] |
| Rhode Island | Dennis J. Roberts | Democratic | Defeated, 49.10% | Christopher Del Sesto (Republican) 50.90% [27] |
| South Carolina | George Bell Timmerman Jr. | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Fritz Hollings (Democratic) unopposed in the general election. (Democratic primary/primary run-off results) Fritz Hollings 41.93%/56.78% Donald S. Russell 35.02%/43.22% William C. Johnston 23.06% [28] |
| South Dakota | Joe Foss | Republican | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Ralph Herseth (Democratic) 51.40% Phil Saunders (Republican) 48.60% [29] |
| Tennessee | Frank G. Clement | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Buford Ellington (Democratic) 57.54% Jim Nance McCord (Independent) 31.54% Tom Wall (Republican) 8.31% Scattering 2.61% [30] |
| Texas | Price Daniel | Democratic | Re-elected, 88.09% | Edwin S. Mayer (Republican) 11.91% [31] |
| Vermont | Joseph B. Johnson | Republican | Retired, Republican victory | Robert Stafford (Republican) 50.29% Bernard Joseph Leddy (Democratic) 49.71% [32] |
| Wisconsin | Vernon Wallace Thomson | Republican | Defeated, 46.28% | Gaylord Nelson (Democratic) 53.59% Wayne Leverenz (Socialist Workers) 0.12% [33] |
| Wyoming | Milward Simpson | Republican | Defeated, 46.64% | John J. Hickey (Democratic) 48.94% Louis W. Carlson (Economy) 4.42% [34] |
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States Senate. Its purpose is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate. The DSCC's current Chair is Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York who succeeded Gary Peters of Michigan, after the 2024 Senate elections. DSCC's current executive director is Christie Roberts.
The 1996 United States Senate elections were held on November 5, 1996, with the 33 seats of Class 2 contested in regular elections. Special elections were also held to fill vacancies. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year, in which Democrat Bill Clinton was re-elected president.
The 1980 United States Senate elections were held on November 4, coinciding with Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election. The 34 Senate seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. Reagan's large margin of victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter gave a huge boost to Republican Senate candidates, allowing them to flip 12 Democratic seats and win control of the chamber for the first time since the end of the 83rd Congress in January 1955. This was the first time since 1966 that any party successfully defended all their own seats.
The 1968 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate. Held on November 5, the 34 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections. They coincided with the presidential election of the same year. The Republicans picked up five net seats in the Senate. This saw Republicans win a Senate seat in Florida for the first time since Reconstruction.
The 1958 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate which occurred in the middle of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's second term. Thirty-two seats of Class 1 were contested in regular elections, the new state of Alaska held its first Senate elections for its Class 2 and 3 seats, and two special elections were held to fill vacancies.
The 1956 United States Senate elections were elections for the United States Senate that coincided with the re-election of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The 32 seats of Class 3 were contested in regular elections, and three special elections were held to fill vacancies. Although Democrats gained two seats in regular elections, the Republicans gained two seats in special elections, leaving the party balance of the chamber unchanged.
The 1986 United States House of Representatives elections was held on November 4, 1986, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 100th United States Congress. They occurred in the middle of President Ronald Reagan's second term in office, while he was still relatively popular with the American public. As in most mid-term elections, the president's party — in this case, the Republican Party — lost seats, with the Democratic Party gaining a net of five seats and cementing its majority. These results were not as dramatic as those in the Senate, where the Republicans lost control of the chamber to the Democrats.
The 1972 United States House of Representatives elections were held on November 7, 1972, to elect U.S. Representatives to serve in the 93rd United States Congress. This was the first election held after the 1970 United States redistricting cycle. It coincided with the landslide reelection victory of President Richard M. Nixon. Nixon's Republican Party managed to gain a net of twelve House of Representatives seats from the Democratic Party, although the Democrats retained a majority.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 2002, in 36 states and two territories. The Republicans won eight seats previously held by the Democrats, as well as the seat previously held by Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, who was elected on the Reform Party ticket but had since renounced his party affiliation. The Democrats won 10 seats previously held by the Republicans, as well as the seat previously held by Maine governor Angus King, an independent. The elections were held concurrently with the other United States elections of 2002.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 1998, in 36 states and two territories. Going into the election cycle, 24 of the seats were held by Republicans, 11 by Democrats, and one by an Independent. The elections changed the national balance of power by the loss of one Republican and the gain of one Independent, although political party dominance was shifted in nine states. Democrats gained open seats in California and Iowa and defeated incumbents Fob James of Alabama and David Beasley of South Carolina, while Republicans won open seats in Colorado, Florida, Nebraska, and Nevada and the Reform Party won an open Republican governorship in Minnesota. By the end of the election, 23 seats were held by Republicans, 11 by Democrats, one by the Reform Party, and one by an Independent.
In the United States, a governor serves as the chief executive and commander-in-chief in each of the fifty states and in the five permanently inhabited territories, functioning as head of state and head of government therein. While like all officials in the United States, checks and balances are placed on the office of the governor, significant powers may include ceremonial head of state, executive, legislative, judicial, and military. As such, governors are responsible for implementing state laws and overseeing the operation of the state executive branch. As state leaders, governors advance and pursue new and revised policies and programs using a variety of tools, among them executive orders, executive budgets, and legislative proposals and vetoes. Governors carry out their management and leadership responsibilities and objectives with the support and assistance of department and agency heads, many of whom they are empowered to appoint. A majority of governors have the authority to appoint state court judges as well, in most cases from a list of names submitted by a nominations committee.
United States gubernatorial elections were held 6 November 1962 in 35 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on 8 November 1960, in 27 states. The elections were concurrent with the House elections, the Senate elections and the presidential election.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1894, in 28 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections, on November 6, 1894.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1892, in 32 states, concurrent with the House, Senate elections and presidential election, on November 8, 1892.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1890, in 27 states, concurrent with the House and Senate elections, on November 4, 1890.
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1889, in eleven states.
United States gubernatorial elections are scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026, in 36 states and three territories. The previous gubernatorial elections for this group of states took place in 2022, except in New Hampshire and Vermont, where governors serve two-year terms and elected their governors in 2024. Fifteen of the thirty-six states with elections in this cycle have officially term-limited incumbents. While two of the three United States territories with elections this cycle have officially term-limited incumbents.
