1984 United States gubernatorial elections

1984 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1983 November 6, 1984 1985  →
15 governorships 13 states; 2 territories
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 35 15 Seats after 34 16 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 6 7 Seats won 5 8
Republican hold   Republican gain   Democratic hold   Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 1984, in 13 states and two territories. The Republicans had a net gain of one seat in this election, which coincided with the Senate, House elections and presidential election.

This was the last year in which Arkansas held a gubernatorial election in the same year as the presidential election. The length of gubernatorial terms for Arkansas' governor would be extended from two years to four years with elections taking place in midterm election years following the passage of the Sixty-third Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. ^[1]

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Arkansas	Bill Clinton	Democratic	1978 1980 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 62.5% Woody Freeman (Republican) 37.4%
Delaware	Pete du Pont	Republican	1976	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Mike Castle (Republican) 55.0% William J. Quillen (Democratic) 45.0%
Indiana	Robert D. Orr	Republican	1980	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Robert D. Orr (Republican) 52.16% Wayne Townsend (Democratic) 47.18% Rockland Snyder (American) 0.34% James A. Ridenour (Libertarian) 0.32%
Missouri	Kit Bond	Republican	1980	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y John Ashcroft (Republican) 56.7% Ken Rothman (Democratic) 43.3%
Montana	Ted Schwinden	Democratic	1980	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Ted Schwinden (Democratic) 70.3% Pat M. Goodover (Republican) 26.4% Larry Dodge (Libertarian) 3.3%
New Hampshire	John H. Sununu	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John H. Sununu (Republican) 66.8% Chris Spirou (Democratic) 33.1%
North Carolina	Jim Hunt	Democratic	1976	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y James G. Martin (Republican) 54.3% Rufus L. Edmisten (Democratic) 45.4%
North Dakota	Allen I. Olson	Republican	1980	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic-NPL gain.	Y George A. Sinner (Democratic-NPL) 55.3% Allen I. Olson (Republican) 44.7%
Rhode Island	J. Joseph Garrahy	Democratic	1976	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 60.0% Anthony J. Solomon (Democratic) 40.0%
Utah	Scott M. Matheson	Democratic	1976	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Norman H. Bangerter (Republican) 55.9% Wayne Owens (Democratic) 43.8%
Vermont	Richard A. Snelling	Republican	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 50.0% John J. Easton Jr. (Republican) 48.5% William E. Wicker (Libertarian) 0.8%
Washington	John Spellman	Republican	1980	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Booth Gardner (Democratic) 53.3% John Spellman (Republican) 46.7%
West Virginia	Jay Rockefeller	Democratic	1976	Incumbent term-limited to run for U.S. Senator. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Arch A. Moore Jr. (Republican) 53.3% Clyde See (Democratic) 46.7%

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Vermont, 1.5%
2. Indiana, 4.98%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Washington, 6.6%
2. West Virginia, 6.6%
3. North Carolina, 8.9%

See also

• 1984 United States elections
  • 1984 United States presidential election
  • 1984 United States Senate elections
  • 1984 United States House of Representatives elections

References

1. AR Const. amendment 63