1989 United States gubernatorial elections

1989 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1988 November 7, 1989 1990  →
3 governorships 2 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 28 22 Seats after 29 21 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 1 1 Seats won 2 0
1989 gubernatorial election results:      Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Republican hold

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 1989, in two states and one territory, as well as other statewide offices and members of state legislatures. Democrats picked up the open seat in New Jersey formerly held by a Republican, while keeping another open seat in Virginia which was held by a Democrat.

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
New Jersey	Thomas Kean	Republican	1981	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. [1]	Y James Florio (Democratic) 61.2% Jim Courter (Republican) 37.2% Dan Karlan (Libertarian) .53% Michael Ziruolo (Independent) .45% Tom Fuscaldo (Independent) .31% Catherine Renee Sedwick (Socialist Workers) .28%
Virginia	Gerald Baliles	Democratic	1985	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. [2]	Y Douglas Wilder (Democratic) 50.1% Marshall Coleman (Republican) 49.8%

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

1. Virginia, 0.38%

New Jersey

1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election

←  1985 November 7, 1989 1993  →

Nominee James Florio Jim Courter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,379,937 838,553 Percentage 61.2% 37.2%

County results Congressional district results Florio:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90% Courter:      50–60%

Governor before election Thomas Kean Republican Elected Governor James Florio Democratic

The 1989 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1989. Incumbent Republican Governor Thomas Kean was term-limited after two consecutive terms. Democrat James Florio, a U.S. Representative from Camden County and a twice-unsuccessful candidate for Governor, defeated Republican U.S. Representative Jim Courter by the lopsided margin ^[3] of 61.2%-37.2%.

Virginia

1989 Virginia gubernatorial election

←  1985 November 7, 1989 1993  →
Turnout	66.5% (voting eligible) [4]
Nominee Douglas Wilder Marshall Coleman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 896,936 890,195 Percentage 50.13% 49.76%
County and independent city results Congressional district results Wilder:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Coleman:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Governor before election Jerry Baliles Democratic Elected Governor Douglas Wilder Democratic

The 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 1989. Incumbent Democratic governor Jerry Baliles was unable to seek a second term due to term limits. Democratic nominee and Lieutenant Governor L. Douglas Wilder went against former attorney general of Virginia J. Marshall Coleman in one of the closest elections in Virginia history. Upon taking the oath of office in January 1990, Governor Wilder became the first African-American governor of Virginia, and the first African-American governor of any state since Reconstruction more than one hundred years earlier.

References

1. "1989 Gubernatorial General Election Results - New Jersey". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
2. "1989 Gubernatorial General Election Results - Virginia". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
3. DePalma, Anthony (March 3, 1990). "Courter Won't Run for House Again". The New York Times.
4. Virginia Department of Elections (2016). "Registration/Turnout Statistics". The Commonwealth of Virginia. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.