1994 Nevada gubernatorial election

1994 Nevada gubernatorial election

←  1990 November 8, 1994 (1994-11-08) 1998  →

Nominee Bob Miller Jim Gibbons Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 200,026 156,875 Percentage 52.7% 41.3%

County results Miller:     40–50%     50–60% Gibbons:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election Bob Miller Democratic Elected Governor Bob Miller Democratic

The 1994 Nevada gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democrat Bob Miller won re-election to a second term, defeating Republican nominee Jim Gibbons (who would later go on to narrowly win the governorship in 2006). This was the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Nevada until Steve Sisolak's victory 2018, and remains the last time that a Democratic governor has won re-election. As of 2025, this is also the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected in Nevada respectively. This was the first Nevada gubernatorial election since 1962 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president.

Democratic primary

Candidate

• Bob Miller, incumbent Governor of Nevada
• Janis Lyle Laverty, incumbent Mayor of Las Vegas
• Rhinestone Cowboy
• Samuel F. Bull, perennial candidate
• Thomas Gaule
• Carlo Poliak, sanitation worker and frequent candidate

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bob Miller (incumbent)	75,311	62.66%
	Democratic	Jan Laverty Jones	33,566	27.93%
		None of These Candidates	6,917	5.76%
	Democratic	Rhinestone Cowboy	1,317	1.10%
	Democratic	Samuel F. Bull	1,234	1.03%
	Democratic	Thomas Gaule	1,031	0.86%
	Democratic	Carlo Poliak	810	0.67%
Total votes			120,186	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidate

• Jim Gibbons, state assemblyman
• Cheryl Lau, current secretary of state
• Edward E. "Ned" Eyre Jr., perennial candidate
• Ken Santor, state treasurer
• Hilary "Sir" Michael Milko
• Suzanne Nounna

Results

Republican Primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Gibbons	59,705	51.15%
	Republican	Cheryl Lau	37,749	32.34%
		None of These Candidates	10,391	8.90%
	Republican	Edward "Ned" Eyre Jr.	4,066	3.48%
	Republican	Ken Santor	2,549	2.18%
	Republican	Hilary Michael Milko	1,247	1.07%
	Republican	Suzanne Nounna	1,015	0.87%
Total votes			127,952	100.00%

General election

Candidates

• Bob Miller (D), incumbent Governor of Nevada
• Jim Gibbons (R), state assemblyman
• Daniel Hansen (IA)
• Denis Sholty (L)

Results

Nevada gubernatorial election, 1994 ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Bob Miller (incumbent)	200,026	52.68%	−12.13%
	Republican	Jim Gibbons	156,875	41.32%	+11.45%
	Independent American	Daniel Hansen	10,012	2.64%	+2.64%
		None of These Candidates	8,785	2.31%	−0.50%
	Libertarian	Denis Sholty	3,978	1.05%	−1.46%
Majority			112,089	34.95%
Total votes			379,676	100.00%
	Democratic hold		Swing	-23.58%

County results

County	Bob Miller Democratic		Jim Gibbons Republican		Daniel Hansen Independent American		None of These Candidates		Denis Sholty Libertarian		Margin		Total votes cast [1]
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Carson City	7,191	44.22%	8,168	50.23%	325	2.00%	473	2.91%	104	0.64%	-977	-6.01%	16,261
Churchill	2,857	41.77%	3,524	51.52%	268	3.92%	153	2.24%	38	0.56%	-667	-9.75%	6,840
Clark	125,231	58.36%	76,984	35.88%	4,700	2.19%	5,249	2.45%	2,415	1.13%	48,247	22.48%	214,579
Douglas	6,211	46.20%	6,596	49.06%	291	2.16%	2.36	1.76%	110	0.82%	-385	-2.86%	13,444
Elko	2,920	29.43%	6,080	61.28%	566	5.70%	238	2.40%	118	1.19%	-3,160	-31.85%	9,922
Esmeralda	170	31.89%	309	57.97%	19	3.56%	20	3.75%	15	2.81%	-139	-26.08%	533
Eureka	192	29.31%	401	61.22%	31	4.73%	25	3.82%	6	0.92%	-209	-31.91%	655
Humboldt	1,746	40.51%	2,265	52.55%	162	3.76%	115	2.67%	22	0.51%	-519	-12.04%	4,310
Lander	729	34.53%	1,172	55.52%	142	6.73%	52	2.46%	16	0.76%	-443	-20.99%	2,111
Lincoln	525	28.56%	1,056	57.45%	147	8.00%	92	5.01%	18	0.98%	-531	-28.89%	1,838
Lyon	3,779	45.83%	3,915	47.48%	328	3.98%	156	1.89%	68	0.82%	-136	-1.65%	8,246
Mineral	1,346	55.21%	931	38.19%	79	3.24%	66	2.71%	16	0.66%	415	17.02%	2,438
Nye	2,819	39.96%	3,410	48.33%	389	5.51%	188	2.66%	249	3.53%	-591	-8.38%	7,055
Pershing	605	40.77%	769	51.82%	59	3.98%	45	3.03%	6	0.40%	-164	-11.05%	1,484
Storey	807	50.16%	695	43.19%	47	2.92%	39	2.42%	21	1.31%	112	6.96%	1,609
Washoe	41,694	48.97%	38,925	45.72%	2,251	2.64%	1,536	1.80%	732	0.86%	2,769	3.25%	85,138
White Pine	1,204	37.47%	1,675	52.13%	208	6.47%	102	3.17%	24	0.75%	-471	-14.66%	3,213
Totals	200,026	52.68%	156,875	41.32%	10,012	2.64%	8,785	2.31%	3,978	1.05%	43,151	11.37%	379,676

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Carson City
• Churchill
• Douglas
• Elko
• Esmeralda
• Eureka
• Humboldt
• Lander
• Lincoln
• Lyon
• Nye
• Pershing
• White Pine

References

1. "1994 Primary and General Election Returns". Nevada Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024.