2003 United States gubernatorial elections

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2003 United States gubernatorial elections
Flag of the United States.svg
  2002 October 4 and 7, and November 6 and 15, 2003 2004  

4 governorships [lower-alpha 1]
 Majority partyMinority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before2624
Seats after2822
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 2
Seats up13
Seats won31

2003 United States gubernatorial elections results map.svg
Map of the results
     Republican gain     Democratic gain
     No election

United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states. Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 4. Louisiana held the first round of its jungle primary on October 4 and the runoff on November 15. In addition, California held a recall election on October 7.

Contents

The Republican Party had a net gain of two seats in 2003, picking up an open seat in Kentucky, removing a Democratic governor in California, and defeating a Democratic governor in Mississippi, while losing an open seat to the Democrats in Louisiana. The election cycle was unusual because every seat that was up for election changed hands. This was the last time a party made net gains in this cycle of gubernatorial elections until 2019.

Election predictions

StateIncumbentLast
race
Sabato
September 2,
2003
[1]
Result
California (recall) Gray Davis 47.3% D TossupSchwarzenegger
48.6% R
Kentucky Paul Patton (term-limited)60.7% D Lean R (flip) Fletcher
55.0% R
Louisiana Mike Foster (term-limited)62.2% R Lean D (flip) Blanco
51.3% D
Mississippi Ronnie Musgrove 49.6% D Tossup Haley Barbour
52.6% R

Race Summary

StateIncumbentPartyFirst
elected
ResultCandidates
California
(recall)
Gray Davis Democratic 1998 Incumbent recalled.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.
Vote on recall
  • Green check.svgYYes 55.4%
  • No 44.6%
Replacement candidates
Kentucky Paul Patton Democratic 1995 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.
Louisiana Mike Foster Republican 1995 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain.
Mississippi Ronnie Musgrove Democratic 1999 Incumbent lost re-election.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

  1. Louisiana, 3.9%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. Mississippi, 6.8%

California (recall)

2003 California gubernatorial recall election
Flag of California.svg
  2002 October 7, 2003 2006  
Turnout61.20% [2] Increase2.svg34.4pp
Vote on recall
Shall Gray Davis be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svgYes4,976,27455.39%
Light brown x.svgNo4,007,78344.61%
Valid votes8,984,05795.44%
Invalid or blank votes429,4314.56%
Total votes9,413,488100.00%
Registered voters/turnout15,380,53661.2%

2003 California gubernatorial recall election referendum results map by county.svg
County results
Yes:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
No:      50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Replacement candidates

If Davis is recalled, who should replace him as governor?
Turnout61.20%
  A. Schwarzenegger (3x4a).jpg Cruz-Bustamante (3x4a).jpg Tom McClintock (3x4a).jpg
Candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger Cruz Bustamante Tom McClintock
Party Republican Democratic Republican
Popular vote4,206,2842,724,8741,161,287
Percentage48.6%31.5%13.4%

2003 California gubernatorial recall election replacement results map by county.svg
County results
Schwarzenegger:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Bustamante:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%

Governor before election

Gray Davis
Democratic

Governor after election

Arnold Schwarzenegger
Republican

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts. [3]

After several legal and procedural efforts failed to stop it, California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, and the results were certified on November 14, 2003, making Davis the first governor recalled in the history of California, and just the second in U.S. history (the first was North Dakota's 1921 recall of Lynn Frazier). [4] California is one of 19 states that allow recalls. [5] Nearly 18 years after the 2003 election, California held a second recall election in 2021; however, that recall was unsuccessful, failing to oust Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. [6]

Kentucky

2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election
Flag of Kentucky.svg
  1999 November 4, 2003 2007  
  Ernie Fletcher (1).jpg A.B. Chandler (1).jpg
Nominee Ernie Fletcher Ben Chandler
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Steve Pence Charlie Owen
Popular vote596,284487,159
Percentage55.0%45.0%

2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election results map by congressional district.svg
Fletcher:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Chandler:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

Paul E. Patton
Democratic

Elected Governor

Ernie Fletcher
Republican

The 2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held to elect the governor of Kentucky on November 4, 2003. Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher defeated Democrat Ben Chandler and became the first Republican governor of Kentucky in 32 years. [7]

Louisiana

2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election
Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg
  1999 October 4, 2003 (first round)
November 15, 2003 (runoff)
2007  
  KBlancoChalmetteIce.jpg Bobby Jindal at Department of Health and Human Services (cropped).jpg 3x4.svg
Nominee Kathleen Blanco Bobby Jindal Richard Ieyoub
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
First round250,136
18.36%
443,389
32.54%
223,513
16.4%
Runoff731,358
51.95%
676,484
48.05%
Eliminated

  Buddy Leach.png 3x4.svg 3x4.svg
Nominee Buddy Leach Randy EwingHunt Downer
Party Democratic Democratic Republican
First round187,872
13.79%
123,936
9.1%
84,718
6.22%
RunoffEliminatedEliminatedEliminated

2003LAgubernatorial.svg
2003 Louisiana gubernatorial runoff election results map by parish.svg
Parish results
Blanco:     20–30%     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Jindal:     20–30%     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Ieyoub:     20–30%     30–40%
Leach:     20–30%     30–40%     50–60%
Ewing:     30–40%     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%
Downer:     20–30%     40–50%

Governor before election

Mike Foster
Republican

Elected Governor

Kathleen Blanco
Democratic

The 2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on November 15, 2003 to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Foster was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution. As of 2023, this is the most recent Louisiana gubernatorial election in which the first-round winner did not win the runoff.

Mississippi

2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Flag of Mississippi (2001-2020).svg
  1999 November 4, 2003 2007  
  Haley Barbour by Gage Skidmore.jpg David Ronald Musgrove (cropped).jpg
Nominee Haley Barbour Ronnie Musgrove
Party Republican Democratic
Electoral vote7646
Popular vote470,404409,787
Percentage52.59%45.81%

2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
County results
Barbour:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%
Musgrove:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

Ronnie Musgrove
Democratic

Elected Governor

Haley Barbour
Republican

The 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2003 to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove by a margin of 6.78%.

As of 2023, the election remains the most expensive gubernatorial election in state history, with over $18 million having been spent between Barbour and Musgrove. [8] An additional $5 million was spent by the Republican Governors Association, mostly on television advertising. Barbour's victory in the election made him only the second Republican governor of Mississippi since Reconstruction. [9]

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Labor Day – One Year Out". Sabato's Crystal Ball.
  2. "Statement of Vote" (PDF). elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. 2003. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  3. "Complete List of Recall Attempts".
  4. Baldassare, Mark; Katz, Cheryl (2008). The Coming Age of Direct Democracy: California's Recall and Beyond . Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p.  11. ISBN   9780742538719 . Retrieved 2012-05-20. gray davis lynn frazier.
  5. Jennie Bowser. "Recall of State Officials". Ncsl.org. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  6. White, Jeremy (March 16, 2021). "Newsom says California recall likely to qualify, tries to soften Feinstein stance". Politico.
  7. "N.Ky. key to victory for Fletcher". The Cincinnati Enquirer . 2003-11-05. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
  8. "Miss. governor race eyed as '04 harbinger - The Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  9. Janofsky, Michael (November 5, 2003). "Republicans Win Top Posts In Mississippi and Kentucky". The New York Times . Retrieved May 14, 2008.