1991 United States gubernatorial elections

1991 United States gubernatorial elections

←  1990 October 19, November 5 and 16, 1991 1992  →
4 governorships 3 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 28 [a] 20 [b] Seats after 28 20 Seat change Seats up 2 1 Seats won 2 1
Democratic gain     Democratic hold      Republican gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 1991, in three states and one territory. Prior to the elections, Democrats held two seats and Republicans held one. The national balance of power did not change as a result of the elections, but the balance of power shifted in two states.

In Kentucky, the incumbent governor, Wallace Wilkinson, was term-limited. Lieutenant Governor Brereton C. Jones was the candidate for the Democrats and defeated Republican Representative Larry J. Hopkins. ^[1]

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Kentucky	Wallace Wilkinson	Democratic	1987	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Brereton C. Jones (Democratic) 64.7% Larry J. Hopkins (Republican) 35.3%
Louisiana	Buddy Roemer	Republican	1987 [b]	Incumbent eliminated in primary. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Edwin Edwards (Democratic) 61.2% David Duke (Republican) 38.8%
Mississippi	Ray Mabus	Democratic	1987	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Kirk Fordice (Republican) 50.8% Ray Mabus (Democratic) 47.6% Shawn O'Hara (Independent) 1.6%

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Mississippi, 3.2%

Notes

1. Howard Dean (D) succeeded Vermont Governor Richard A. Snelling (R) who died in office in August 1991.
2. Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer was elected as a Democrat in 1987, but switched to the Republican Party in March 1991.

References

1. Ayres, Jr., B. Drummond (November 2, 1991). "Kentucky Race for Governor Leaves Voters Yawning". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2024.