1983 United States gubernatorial elections

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1983 United States gubernatorial elections
Flag of the United States.svg
  1982 October 22 and November 3, 1983 1984  

4 governorships
3 states; 1 territory
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Seats before3416
Seats after3515
Seat changeIncrease2.svg1Decrease2.svg1
Seats up21
Seats won30

1983 United States gubernatorial elections results map.svg
  Democratic hold
  Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on October 22 and November 3, 1983, in three states and one territory. Following the elections, the Democratic Party held all three seats.

Contents

Election results

StateIncumbentPartyFirst
elected
ResultCandidates
Kentucky John Y. Brown Jr. Democratic 1979 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic hold. [1]
Louisiana David Treen Republican 1979 Incumbent lost re-election.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain. [2]
  • Green check.svgY Edwin Edwards (Democratic) 62.3%
  • David Treen (Republican) 36.4%
  • Robert M. Ross (Republican) 0.5%
  • Ken "Cousin Ken" Lewis (Democratic) 0.3%
  • Charlie Moore (Independent) 0.1%
  • Floyd W. Smith, Jr. (Democratic) 0.1%
  • Midiele Smith (Independent) 0.1%
  • Joseph T. Robino (Independent) 0.1%
  • Michael Musmeci (Democratic) 0.1%
Mississippi William Winter Democratic 1979 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic hold. [3]

Kentucky

1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election
Flag of Kentucky.svg
  1979 November 8, 1983 1987  
Turnout55.6% Increase2.svg 1.3 pp
  Lt. Governor Martha Layne Collins (cropped).jpg Jim-Bunning-108th.jpg
Nominee Martha Layne Collins Jim Bunning
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote561,674454,650
Percentage54.50%44.11%

1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election results map by congressional district.svg
Collins:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Bunning:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

John Y. Brown Jr.
Democratic

Elected Governor

Martha Layne Collins
Democratic

The 1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1983. Democratic nominee Martha Layne Collins defeated Republican nominee Jim Bunning with 54.50% of the vote, replacing outgoing governor John Y. Brown Jr., and becoming the first female governor of Kentucky.

Louisiana

1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election
Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg
  1979 October 22, 1983 1987  
  Edwin Edwards.jpg Dave Treen.jpg
Nominee Edwin Edwards Dave Treen
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote1,002,798585,692
Percentage62.31%36.39%

1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election results map by parish.svg
Parish results
Edwards:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Treen:      50–60%

Governor before election

Dave Treen
Republican

Elected Governor

Edwin Edwards
Democratic

The 1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Dave Treen lost re-election to a second term, defeated by former Democratic governor Edwin Edwards. Edwards became the first governor since Earl Long to win non-consecutive terms. He also became the first to serve three full terms.

Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party, and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. A runoff would be held if no candidate received an absolute majority of the vote during the primary election. On October 12, 1983, Edwards and Treen took the two highest popular vote counts, but a runoff election was not held as Edwards won over 50% of the vote in the primary. [4]

Mississippi

1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Flag of Mississippi (1894-1996).svg
  1979 November 8, 1983 1987  
  William Allain (1985) (cropped).png 3x4.svg
Nominee William Allain Leon Bramlett
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote409,209288,764
Percentage55.10%38.88%

1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Allain:     50-60%     60-70%     70-80%     80-90%
Bramlett:     50-60%

Governor before election

William Winter
Democratic

Elected Governor

William Allain
Democratic

The 1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1983, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat William Winter was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term.

References

  1. "NOV 8, 1983 GOVERNOR'S ELECTION". State Board of Elections, Commonwealth of Kentucky. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  2. Pope, John (October 23, 1983). "Edwards Defeats Incumbent In Louisiana Governor's Race". Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. Core, Hays; Andersen, Kurt; Phillips, B.J. (June 4, 2011). "Elections '83; A Winning Round". Time Magazine. Web Archive. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  4. 2019 Elections (PDF) Louisiana Secretary of State.