Results of the elections: Democratic gainRepublican gain Democratic holdRepublican hold Independent gainNo election
On November 8, 1994, gubernatorial elections were held in 36 states and two territories across the United States. Many seats held by Democratic governors switched to the Republicans during the time known as the Republican Revolution. Notably, this marked the first time since 1969 that Republicans secured the majority of governorships in an election cycle.
Before the elections, 21 seats were held by Democrats, 14 were held by Republicans, and one seat was held by an independent. After the elections, 11 seats would be held by Democrats, 24 by Republicans, and one seat by an independent.
These elections occurred concurrently with the midterm elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. To date, it remains the last time that Democrats have won gubernatorial elections in Florida and Nebraska. Conversely, this election cycle began an ongoing pattern in which Rust Belt states Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would vote for gubernatorial candidates of the same party, with the sole exception of 2014.[2] As of 2025, this is the last time one party posted a net gain of 10 or more seats.
The 1994 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of Alabama. The election saw RepublicanFob James defeat incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom Jr. in an upset. This was the first of three consecutive Alabama gubernatorial elections where the incumbent was defeated.
The 1994 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Fife Symington, the incumbent RepublicanGovernor of Arizona, defeated the Democratic nominee Eddie Basha to win a second term in office. However, Symington resigned in 1997 due to a federal indictment on corruption charges.
The 1994 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, in the midst of that year's "Republican Revolution". Incumbent RepublicanPete Wilson easily won re-election over his main challenger, Democratic State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, the daughter of Pat Brown and younger sister of Jerry Brown, both of whom had previously served as governor. Primaries were held on June 3, 1994.
The 1994 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of the state of Colorado. Although Colorado voters passed a term limits ballot measure in 1990 limiting the governors to two terms, it included a provision for Roy Romer, the Democratic incumbent, to be able to run for reelection for a third term.[5] The Republican nominee, Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Bruce D. Benson, lost by a margin of nearly 18 percent.
The 1994 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, to elect the governor of Connecticut. Republican John G. Rowland won the open seat following the retirement of A Connecticut Party Governor Lowell Weicker. The election was a four-way race between A Connecticut Party Lieutenant Governor Eunice Groark, Republican U.S. Congressman John G. Rowland, Democratic state comptroller Bill Curry, and independent conservative talk show host Tom Scott. Rowland won the election with just 36% of the vote.[6]
The 1994 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governor Lawton Chiles won re-election over Republican Jeb Bush, who later won Florida’s governorship in 1998 when Chiles was term-limited. This race was the second-closest gubernatorial election in Florida history since Reconstruction, due to the strong Republican wave of 1994.
The 1994 Georgia gubernatorial election occurred on November8, 1994, to elect the next governor of Georgia from 1995 to 1999. Incumbent Democratic governor Zell Miller, first elected in 1990, ran for a second term. In his party's primary, Miller received three challengers, but easily prevailed with just over 70% of the vote. The contest for the Republican nomination, however, was a competitive race. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, John Knox and Guy Millner advanced to a run-off election. Millner was victorious and received the Republican nomination after garnering 59.41% of the vote.
The general election was a competitive race between Zell Miller and Guy Millner. Issues such as welfare reform, education, and the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Georgia's state flag dominated the election. On election day, Miller defeated Millner 51.05%-48.95% in the third-closest gubernatorial election in Georgian history – behind only the 2018 and 1966 elections – since Reconstruction due to the strong Republican wave of 1994.
The 1994 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1994. Incumbent DemocraticGovernor of HawaiiJohn D. Waihee III was prevented from seeking a third term as Governor due to term limits, creating an open seat. Lieutenant GovernorBen Cayetano emerged from a crowded primary to become the Democratic nominee, facing off against former Administrator of the Small Business AdministrationPat Saiki, the Republican nominee and Honolulu MayorFrank Fasi, who ran as the Best Party of Hawaii's nominee. In a very close election, Cayetano beat Fasi, who placed second, by six percentage points and Saiki, who placed third, winning only a plurality of the vote. Fasi's performance was notable in that it was the best performance by a third party gubernatorial candidate in Hawaii's history.
The 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar won reelection in the largest landslide in over a century, after the elections of 1818 and 1848.
The 1994 Iowa gubernatorial election took place November 8, 1994. Incumbent RepublicanGovernor of IowaTerry Branstad ran for re-election to a fourth term as governor. Branstad narrowly defeated a tough challenger in his primary election, emerging victorious by 11,419 votes. On the Democratic side, Attorney General of IowaBonnie Campbell won her party's nomination and both Branstad and Campbell moved on to the general election. Branstad ultimately won re-election to a fourth term as governor, defeating Campbell in a landslide.
The 1994 Kansas gubernatorial election included Republican Bill Graves who won the open seat vacated by the pending retirement of Governor Joan Finney. He defeated Jim Slattery.[7]
The 1994 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994 to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor John McKernan was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term. IndependentAngus King won the election.
The 1994 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governor William Donald Schaefer was ineligible for re-election. Prince George's County Executive Parris Glendening emerged victorious from the Democratic primary after defeating several candidates. Maryland House minority leader Ellen Sauerbrey, who would also be the 1998 Republican nominee for governor, won her party's nomination.
In the general election, Glendening narrowly defeated Sauerbrey by a margin of 50.21 percent to 49.78 percent, or by 5,993 votes, the closest gubernatorial election in Maryland since 1919[9] and the first gubernatorial election in Maryland history to be decided by an absentee runoff.[10]
The 1994 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent governor Ben Nelson won a re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Republican businessman Gene Spence by 47.4 percentage points and sweeping all but two counties in the state. As of 2025, this is the last time that a Democrat was elected governor of Nebraska.
The 1994 Nevada gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democrat Bob Miller won re-election to a second term as Governor of Nevada, defeating Republican nominee Jim Gibbons (who would later go on to narrowly win the governorship in 2006, twelve years later). This would be the last victory by a Democrat in a governors race in Nevada until Steve Sisolak's victory in the 2018 election twenty-four years later, and remains the last time that a Democratic governor has won re-election. As of 2023, this is the last time that a gubernatorial nominee and a lieutenant gubernatorial nominee of different political parties were elected governor and lieutenant governor of Nevada respectively. This election was the first Nevada gubernatorial election since 1962 in which the winner of the gubernatorial election was of the same party as the incumbent president.
The 1994 New Mexico gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, for the four-year term beginning on January 1, 1995. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran on a ticket as running mates.
The 1994 New York gubernatorial election was an election for the state governorship held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governor Mario Cuomo ran for a fourth term, but was defeated by RepublicanGeorge Pataki in an upset victory. Pataki had previously been described by the New York Daily News as "a little-known Republican state senator."[13] The conservative New York Post attributed the result to how voters "had grown tired of the 12-year incumbent Cuomo and his liberalism."[14]
Pataki's victory was one of the most notable of the 1994 "Republican Revolution" midterm elections, which also ousted governors in Alabama, New Mexico, and Texas. This is the last time a governor of New York lost re-election. This would be the last gubernatorial race until 2022 that was decided by a single-digit margin.
The 1994 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Incumbent RepublicanGovernor of OhioGeorge Voinovich ran for re-election to a second and final term as governor. Voinovich won his party's nomination uncontested and was opposed by State SenatorRob Burch, who won a competitive Democratic primary. Ultimately, Voinovich capitalized on his massive popularity with Ohio and won re-election in an overwhelming landslide, defeating Burch and winning over 70% of the vote. As of 2024[update], this was the last time Athens County voted for the Republican candidate.
The Democratic vote was split between Lieutenant GovernorJack Mildren, an Oklahoma Sooners star quarterback from 1969 to 1971, and former Democratic congressman Wes Watkins, who ran as an independent. Watkins won 24% of the vote and carried numerous counties (by wide margins in some cases); his 233,000 votes far exceeded Keating's 171,000-vote winning margin over Mildren.
The 1994 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 3, 1994. Democratic nominee John Kitzhaber won the election, defeating Republican Denny Smith.
The 1994 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. The incumbent governor, Bob Casey, Sr. (Democrat), was barred from seeking a third term by the state constitution. The Republican Party nominated Congressman Tom Ridge, while the Democrats nominated Mark Singel, Casey's lieutenant governor. Ridge went on to win the race with 45% of the vote. Singel finished with 39%, and Constitution Party candidate Peg Luksik finished third, garnering 12% of the vote.
The 1994 Rhode Island gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Republican Lincoln Almond defeated Democrat Myrth York. Almond was the first governor elected to a four-year term, as opposed to two years.
Before the election, Richards had a high approval rating due to the strength of the state economy. However, Bush's campaigning on cultural and religious issues resonated with many Texan voters, and the race was considered a tossup on election day.
The 1994 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. In the midst of the Republican Revolution, incumbent Republican governor Tommy Thompson won the election with a landslide 67% of the vote, winning a third term as Governor of Wisconsin.
Thompson's share of the popular vote was the highest received by any gubernatorial candidate in Wisconsin since 1920. Thompson also won 71 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, losing only Menominee County by 20 votes. This is the most recent gubernatorial election in which Dane County (containing Wisconsin's capital of Madison), as well as Ashland, Bayfield, and Douglas counties, have voted for the Republican candidate.
The 1994 Wyoming gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic Governor Mike Sullivan was unable to seek a third term because of newly imposed term limits, and instead ran for the U.S. Senate. State Senate President Jim Geringer won the Republican primary and faced Secretary of State Kathy Karpan, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Aided by the nationwide Republican wave, Geringer defeated Karpan in a landslide, marking the first time since Governor Stanley Hathaway's re-election in 1970 that a Republican won a gubernatorial election in Wyoming.
Barry served six months in prison on a cocaine conviction. After his release from prison, Barry ran successfully for the Ward 8 city council seat in 1992, running under the slogan "He May Not Be Perfect, But He's Perfect for D.C." Upon this victory, Barry said he was "not interested in being mayor" again.[16]
This was by far the smallest Democratic victory margin in a regularly scheduled partisan citywide election since the city was granted home rule.
↑ Folsom took office after his predecessor (H. Guy Hunt) was removed from office.
↑ Hickel was elected as a Republican in his first term in 1966. He was elected under the Alaskan Independence Party for his second term in 1990, before switching back to the Republican Party towards the end of his second term in April 1994.
↑ Tucker took office after his predecessor (Bill Clinton) resigned.
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