1986 United States gubernatorial elections

1986 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1985 November 4, 1986 1987  →
38 governorships 36 states; 2 territories
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 34 16 Seats after 26 24 Seat change 8 8 Seats up 27 9 Seats won 19 17
Republican hold   Republican gain   Democratic hold   Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 1986, in 36 states and two territories. The Democrats had a net loss of eight seats during this election, which coincided with the Senate and the House elections. This was despite the Democratic trend on a federal level, making this the last midterm election until 2022 where the party of the incumbent president achieved a net gain of governorships.

Election results

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Alabama	George Wallace	Democratic	1962 1966 (term-limited) 1970 1978 (term-limited) 1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y H. Guy Hunt (Republican) 56.4% Bill Baxley (Democratic) 43.6%
Alaska	Bill Sheffield	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-nomination. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Steve Cowper (Democratic) 47.3% Arliss Sturgulewski (Republican) 42.6% Joe Vogler (Alaskan Ind.) 5.6% Wally Hickel (write-in) 2.8% Mary Jane O'Brannon (Libertarian) 0.6%
Arizona	Bruce Babbitt	Democratic	1978 [a]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Evan Mecham (Republican) 39.7% Carolyn Warner (Democratic) 34.5% Bill Schulz (Independent) 25.8%
Arkansas	Bill Clinton	Democratic	1978 1980 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 63.9% Frank D. White (Republican) 36.1%
California	George Deukmejian	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George Deukmejian (Republican) 60.2% Tom Bradley (Democratic) 37.2% Maria Elizabeth Muñoz (PF) 1.3% Joseph Fuhrig (Libertarian) 0.7%< Gary V. Miller (American Ind.) 0.7%
Colorado	Richard Lamm	Democratic	1974	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Roy Romer (Democratic) 58.2% Ted Strickland (Republican) 41.0% Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.8%
Connecticut	William A. O'Neill	Democratic	1980 [b]	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William A. O'Neill (Democratic) 58.5% Julie Belaga (Republican) 41.5%
Florida	Bob Graham	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bob Martinez (Republican) 54.6% Steve Pajcic (Democratic) 45.4%
Georgia	Joe Frank Harris	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) 70.5% Guy Davis (Republican) 29.5%
Hawaii	George Ariyoshi	Democratic	1974	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y John D. Waiheʻe III (Democratic) 52.0% D. G. Anderson (Republican) 48.0%
Idaho	John Evans	Democratic	1978 [c]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Cecil Andrus (Democratic) 50.5% David H. Leroy (Republican) 49.5%
Illinois	James R. Thompson	Republican	1976	Incumbent re-elected	Y James R. Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Adlai Stevenson III (Solidarity) 40.0% No candidate [d] (Democratic) 6.6% Gary L. Shilts (Libertarian) 0.5%
Iowa	Terry Branstad	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Terry Branstad (Republican) 51.9% Lowell Junkins (Democratic) 48.0%
Kansas	John W. Carlin	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Mike Hayden (Republican) 51.9% Thomas R. Docking (Democratic) 48.1%
Maine	Joseph E. Brennan	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) 39.9% James Tierney (Democratic) 30.2% Sherry Huber (Independent) 15.1% John Menario (Independent) 14.9%
Maryland	Harry Hughes	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y William Donald Schaefer (Democratic) 82.4% Thomas J. Mooney (Republican) 17.6%
Massachusetts	Michael Dukakis	Democratic	1974 1978 (lost renomination) 1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 68.8% George Kariotis (Republican) 31.2%
Michigan	James Blanchard	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y James Blanchard (Democratic) 68.1% William Lucas (Republican) 31.5%
Minnesota	Rudy Perpich	Democratic	1976 [e] 1978 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Rudy Perpich (Democratic) 56.1% Cal Ludeman (Republican) 43.1%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Kay A. Orr (Republican) 52.9% Helen Boosalis (Democratic) 47.1%
Nevada	Richard Bryan	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Richard Bryan (Democratic) 71.9% Patricia Dillon Cafferata (Republican) 25.0% None of These Candidates 2.1% Louis R. Tomburello (Libertarian) 1.0%
New Hampshire	John H. Sununu	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John H. Sununu (Republican) 53.7% Paul McEachern (Democratic) 46.3%
New Mexico	Toney Anaya	Democratic	1982	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Garrey Carruthers (Republican) 53.0% Ray Powell (Democratic) 47.0%
New York	Mario Cuomo	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Mario Cuomo (Democratic) 64.3% Andrew P. O'Rourke (Republican) 31.8% Denis Dillon (Right to Life) 3.1% Lenora Fulani (New Alliance) 0.6%
Ohio	Dick Celeste	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Dick Celeste (Democratic) 60.6% Jim Rhodes (Republican) 39.4%
Oklahoma	George Nigh	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Henry Bellmon (Republican) 48.1% David Walters (Democratic) 45.2% Jerry Brown (Independent) 6.7%
Oregon	Victor Atiyeh	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic) 52.0% Norma Paulus (Republican) 48.0%
Pennsylvania	Dick Thornburgh	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Bob Casey Sr. (Democratic) 50.7% William Scranton III (Republican) 48.4% Heidi Hoover (Consumer) 1.0%
Rhode Island	Edward D. DiPrete	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 64.7% Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) 32.4% Robert Healey (Cool Moose) 1.9% Tony Affigne (Citizens) 1.1%
South Carolina	Richard Riley	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) 51.0% Michael R. Daniel (Democratic) 47.9% William H. Griffin (Libertarian) 0.6%
South Dakota	Bill Janklow	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y George S. Mickelson (Republican) 51.8% Lars Herseth (Democratic) 48.2%
Tennessee	Lamar Alexander	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Ned McWherter (Democratic) 54.3% Winfield Dunn (Republican) 45.7%
Texas	Mark White	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bill Clements (Republican) 52.7% Mark White (Democratic) 46.0% Theresa S. Doyle (Libertarian) 1.2%
Vermont	Madeleine Kunin	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected. [f] [1]	Y Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 47.0% Peter Plympton Smith (Republican) 38.3% Bernie Sanders (Independent) 14.5%
Wisconsin	Tony Earl	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Tommy Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Tony Earl (Democratic) 46.2% Kathryn Christenson (Labor and Farm) 0.7%
Wyoming	Edward Herschler	Democratic	1974	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 54.0% Pete Simpson (Republican) 46.0%

Territories and federal district

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
District of Columbia	Marion Barry	Democratic	1978	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Marion Barry (Democratic) 61.4% Carol Schwartz (Republican) 32.8% Brian Moore (Independent) 2.7% Josephine D. Butler (Statehood Green) 1.7%
Guam	Ricardo Bordallo	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. [2] New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Joseph Franklin Ada (Republican) 53.8% Ricardo Bordallo (Democratic) 46.2%
U.S. Virgin Islands	Juan Francisco Luis	Independent	1978	Incumbent term-limited. [3] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Alexander Farrelly (Democratic) 65.4% Adelbert Bryan (ICM) 34.6%

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

1. Idaho, 1.0%

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Pennsylvania, 2.3%
2. Oklahoma, 2.9%
3. South Carolina, 3.1%
4. South Dakota, 3.6%
5. Iowa, 3.9%
6. Hawaii, 4.0%
7. Oregon, 4.0%
8. Alaska, 4.7%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Arizona, 5.2%
2. Nebraska, 5.8%
3. New Mexico, 6.0%
4. Wisconsin, 6.5%
5. Texas, 6.7%
6. New Hampshire, 7.4%
7. Guam, 7.6%
8. Wyoming, 8.0%
9. Tennessee, 8.6%
10. Vermont, 8.7%
11. Florida, 9.2%
12. Maine, 9.7%

See also

• 1986 United States elections
  • 1986 United States Senate elections
  • 1986 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes

1. Babbitt took office after his predecessor (Wesley Bolin) died.
2. O'Neill took office after his predecessor (Ella Grasso) resigned. He was subsequently elected in the 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election.
3. Evans took office after his predecessor (Cecil Andrus) resigned.
4. Stevenson was originally the Democratic gubernatorial nominee but later withdrew when several Lyndon LaRouche supporters won spots on the Democratic ticket. See Solidarity Party for more details
5. Perpich took office after his predecessor (Wendell R. Anderson) resigned.
6. Kunin did not win a majority of the votes; therefore, the state assembly had to cast the final vote.

References

1. "VT Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
2. "Guam Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.
3. "USVI Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.