1976 United States gubernatorial elections

1976 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1975 November 2, 1976 1977  →
15 governorships 14 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 36 13 Seats after 37 12 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 8 6 Seats won 9 5
Republican hold   Republican gain   Democratic hold   Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1976, in 14 states and one territory. Democrats achieved a net gain of one in these elections. This coincided with the House, Senate elections, and the presidential election.

This was the last year in which Illinois held a gubernatorial election on the same year as the presidential election. The state of Illinois moved its gubernatorial election date to midterm congressional election years. As a result, the governor elected this year, served a term of only two years.

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Arkansas	David Pryor	Democratic	1974	Incumbent re-elected. [1]	Y David Pryor (Democratic) 83.24% Leon Griffith (Republican) 16.74%
Delaware	Sherman W. Tribbitt	Democratic	1972	Incumbent lost re-election. [2] New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Pete du Pont (Republican) 56.86% Sherman W. Tribbitt (Democratic) 42.46% George Cripps (American) 0.55% Harry Connor (Prohibition) 0.13%
Illinois	Dan Walker	Democratic	1972	Incumbent lost re-nomination. [3] [4] New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y James R. Thompson (Republican) 64.68% Michael Howlett (Democratic) 34.71% Ishmael Flory (Communist) 0.22%
Indiana	Otis Bowen	Republican	1972	Incumbent re-elected. [5]	Y Otis Bowen (Republican) 56.85% Larry Conrad (Democratic) 42.63% Daniel P. Talbot (American) 0.45% Samuel L. Washington (U.S. Labor) 0.08%
Missouri	Kit Bond	Republican	1972	Incumbent lost re-election. [6] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Joseph P. Teasdale (Democratic) 50.23% Kit Bond (Republican) 49.55% Leon Striler (Nonpartisan) 0.22%
Montana	Thomas Lee Judge	Democratic	1972	Incumbent re-elected. [7]	Y Thomas Lee Judge (Democratic) 61.7% Robert Woodahl (Republican) 36.58% Charley Mahoney (Independent) 1.72%
New Hampshire	Meldrim Thomson Jr.	Republican	1972	Incumbent re-elected. [8]	Y Meldrim Thomson Jr. (Republican) 57.66% Harry Spanos (Democratic) 42.32%
North Carolina	James Holshouser	Republican	1972	Incumbent term-limited. [9] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Jim Hunt (Democratic) 64.99% David Flaherty (Republican) 33.9% Herbert F. "Chub" Seawell Jr. (American) 0.82% Arlan Andrews (Libertarian) 0.29%
North Dakota	Arthur A. Link	Democratic-NPL	1972	Incumbent re-elected. [10]	Y Arthur A. Link (Democratic-NPL) 51.58% Richard Elkin (Republican) 46.53% Martin Vaaler (American) 1.89%
Rhode Island	Philip Noel	Democratic	1972	Incumbent retired. [11] New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y J. Joseph Garrahy (Democratic) 54.82% James Taft (Republican) 44.71% John C. Swift (Independent) 0.32%
Utah	Cal Rampton	Democratic	1964	Incumbent retired. [12] New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Scott M. Matheson (Democratic) 52.02% Vernon B. Romney (Republican) 45.96% L. S. Brown (American) 1.33% Betty Bates (Concerned Citizens) 0.69%
Vermont	Thomas P. Salmon	Democratic	1972	Incumbent retired. [13] New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Richard A. Snelling (Republican) 53.39% Stella Hackel (Democratic) 40.48% Bernie Sanders (Liberty Union) 6.09%
Washington	Daniel J. Evans	Republican	1964	Incumbent retired. [14] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Dixy Lee Ray (Democratic) 53.14% John Spellman (Republican) 44.43% Art Manning (American) 0.8% Red Kelly (OWL Party) 0.8% Henry Killman (Socialist Labor) 0.27%
West Virginia	Arch A. Moore Jr.	Republican	1968	Incumbent term-limited. [15] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Jay Rockefeller (Democratic) 66.15% Cecil H. Underwood (Republican) 33.82%

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

1. Missouri, 0.68%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. North Dakota, 5.05%
2. Utah, 6.06%
3. Washington, 8.71%

See also

• 1976 United States elections
  • 1976 United States presidential election
  • 1976 United States Senate elections
  • 1976 United States House of Representatives elections

References

1. "AR Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
2. "DE Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
3. "IL Governor- D Primary Race - Mar 16, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
4. "IL Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
5. "IN Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
6. "MO Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
7. "MT Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
8. "NH Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
9. "NC Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
10. "ND Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
11. "RI Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
12. "UT Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
13. "VT Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
14. "WA Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
15. "WV Governor Race - Nov 02, 1976". Our Campaigns. Retrieved December 19, 2017.