1985 United States gubernatorial elections

1985 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1984 November 5, 1985 1986  →
3 governorships 2 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 34 16 Seats after 34 16 Seat change Seats up 1 1 Seats won 1 1
Republican hold   Democratic hold

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 1985, in two states and one territory. Both seats remained in their respective parties' controls, as Democrat Gerald Baliles held the open seat in Virginia, while Republican incumbent Thomas Kean was reelected in New Jersey.

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
New Jersey	Thomas Kean	Republican	1981	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Thomas Kean (Republican) 69.6% Peter Shapiro (Democratic) 29.3% [1]
Virginia	Chuck Robb	Democratic	1981	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Gerald Baliles (Democratic) 55.2% Wyatt B. Durrette Jr. (Republican) 44.8% [2]

References

1. Leip, David. "1985 Gubernatorial General Election Results - New Jersey". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
2. Leip, David. "1985 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Virginia". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 1, 2025.