Elections in Pennsylvania |
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Government |
The election of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania occurs when voters in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania select the Governor and Lieutenant Governor for the ensuing four years beginning at noon on the third Tuesday of January following the election. [1] Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections were held triennially beginning with the first election in 1790 until 1878. Gubernatorial elections have been held quadrennially since the election of 1882. Gubernatorial general elections are held on Election Day, coinciding with various other federal, statewide, and local races.
Per Article II of the 1790 Pennsylvania Constitution, gubernatorial elections were held triennially on the second Tuesday of October, with the three-year term commencing on the third Tuesday of December immediately following the election. Incumbents were permitted to serve for a maximum of nine years out of any period of twelve years. Ties were to be resolved, pursuant to the same document, by a joint vote of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. [2] The 1874 Pennsylvania Constitution mandated the date of gubernatorial elections to be likewise that of the general election on Election Day in November and extended the term to four years, beginning on the third Tuesday of January following the election. [3] In the original text of the 1874 Constitution, an incumbent governor was prohibited from running for a second successive term, but this was amended in 1967 to permit an incumbent to do so. [4] The next gubernatorial election in Pennsylvania is scheduled to be held on November 3, 2026.
The list below contains election returns from all sixty-seven gubernatorial elections in Pennsylvania sorted by year, beginning with the first in 1790 and ending with the most recent in 2022. Incumbent governors are listed as well as elected governors and runner(s)-up in each election, including major third-party candidates (garnering 5% or more of the popular vote). Parties are color-coded to the left of a Governor's or candidate's name according to the key below. The popular vote and percentage margins listed in the "Margin" column are the differences between the total votes received and percentage of the popular vote received by the top two finishers in the corresponding election (i.e. the margin-of-victory of an elected governor over the nearest competitor).
Independent Federalist Democratic-Republican Democratic Whig Republican National Republican Anti-Masonic Know Nothing/American Prohibition Constitution
Election | Incumbent governor | Elected governor | Votes | Runner(s)-up | Votes | Margin | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1790 | Office established | Thomas Mifflin | 27,974 (90.71%) | Arthur St. Clair | 2,864 (9.29%) | 25,110 (81.42%) | [5] | |||
1793 | Thomas Mifflin | Thomas Mifflin | 20,479 (65.47%) | Frederick Muhlenberg | 10,802 (34.53%) | 9,677 (29.94%) | [6] | |||
1796 | Thomas Mifflin | Thomas Mifflin | 30,020 (96.31%) | Frederick Muhlenberg | 1,011 (3.24%) | 29,009 (93.07%) | [7] | |||
1799 | Thomas Mifflin | Thomas McKean | 37,244 (53.29%) | James Ross | 32,643 (46.71%) | 4,601 (6.58%) | [8] | |||
1802 | Thomas McKean | Thomas McKean | 47,879 (73.76%) | James Ross | 17,037 (26.24%) | 30,842 (47.52%) | [9] | |||
1805 | Thomas McKean | Thomas McKean | 43,644 (53.14%) | Simon Snyder | 38,483 (46.86%) | 5,161 (6.28%) | [10] | |||
1808 | Thomas McKean | Simon Snyder | 67,975 (60.93%) | James Ross | 39,575 (35.48%) | 28,400 (25.45%) | [11] | |||
1811 | Simon Snyder | Simon Snyder | 52,319 (93.55%) | William Tilghman | 3,609 (6.45%) | 48,710 (87.1%) | [12] | |||
1814 | Simon Snyder | Simon Snyder | 51,099 (63.35%) | Isaac Wayne | 29,566 (36.65%) | 21,533 (26.7%) | [13] | |||
1817 | Simon Snyder | William Findlay | 66,331 (52.81%) | Joseph Hiester | 59,272 (47.19%) | 7,059 (5.62%) | [14] | |||
1820 | William Findlay | Joseph Hiester | 67,905 (50.60%) | William Findlay | 66,300 (49.40%) | 1,605 (1.2%) | [15] | |||
1823 | Joseph Hiester | John Andrew Shulze | 89,928 (59.24%) | Andrew Gregg | 64,211 (42.30%) | 25,717 (16.94%) | [16] | |||
1826 | John Andrew Shulze | John Andrew Shulze | 72,710 (96.87%) | John Sergeant | 1,175 (3.13%) | 71,535 (93.74%) | [17] | |||
1829 | John Andrew Shulze | George Wolf | 78,219 (60.17%) | Joseph Ritner | 51,776 (39.83%) | 26,443 (20.34%) | [18] | |||
1832 | George Wolf | George Wolf | 91,335 (50.88%) | Joseph Ritner | 88,165 (49.12%) | 3,170 (1.76%) | [19] | |||
1835 | George Wolf | Joseph Ritner | 94,023 (46.91%) | George Wolf (Ind. Dem.) | 65,804 (32.83%) | 28,219 (14.08%) | [20] | |||
Henry A. P. Muhlenberg | 40,586 (20.25%) | |||||||||
1838 | Joseph Ritner | David R. Porter | 127,821 (51.10%) | Joseph Ritner | 122,325 (48.90%) | 5,496 (2.2%) | [21] | |||
1841 | David R. Porter | David R. Porter | 136,504 (54.60%) | John Banks | 113,473 (45.40%) | 23,031 (9.2%) | [22] | |||
1844 | David R. Porter | Francis R. Shunk | 160,959 (50.69%) | Joseph Markle | 156,562 (49.31%) | 4,397 (1.38%) | [23] | |||
1847 | Francis R. Shunk | Francis R. Shunk | 146,181 (50.86%) | James Irvin | 128,148 (44.58%) | 17,976 (6.28%) | [24] | |||
1848 | William F. Johnston | William F. Johnston | 168,522 (50.04%) | Morris Longstreth | 168,225 (49.96%) | 302 (0.08%) | [25] [note 2] | |||
1851 | William F. Johnston | William Bigler | 186,499 (51.16%) | William F. Johnston | 178,034 (48.84%) | 8,465 (2.32%) | [26] | |||
1854 | William Bigler | James Pollock | 204,008 (54.99%) | William Bigler | 167,001 (45.01%) | 37,007 (9.98%) | [27] | |||
1857 | James Pollock | William F. Packer | 188,887 (52.01%) | David Wilmot | 146,136 (40.24%) | 42,751 (11.77%) | [28] | |||
Isaac Hazlehurst (Amer.) | 28,132 (7.75%) | |||||||||
1860 | William F. Packer | Andrew Curtin | 262,353 (53.26%) | Henry Foster | 230,239 (46.74%) | 32,114 (6.52%) | [29] | |||
1863 | Andrew Curtin | Andrew Curtin | 269,506 (51.46%) | George Woodward | 254,171 (48.54%) | 15,335 (2.92%) | [30] | |||
1866 | Andrew Curtin | John W. Geary | 307,274 (51.44%) | Hiester Clymer | 290,096 (48.56%) | 17,178 (2.88%) | [31] | |||
1869 | John W. Geary | John W. Geary | 290,552 (50.40%) | Asa Packer | 285,956 (49.60%) | 4,596 (0.8%) | [32] | |||
1872 | John W. Geary | John F. Hartranft | 353,387 (52.55%) | Charles R. Buckalew | 317,760 (49.60%) | 35,627 (2.95%) | [33] | |||
1875 | John F. Hartranft | John F. Hartranft | 304,175 (49.90%) | Cyrus L. Pershing | 292,145 (47.93%) | 12,030 (1.97%) | [34] | |||
1878 | John F. Hartranft | Henry M. Hoyt | 319,567 (45.51%) | Andrew H. Dill | 297,061 (42.31%) | 22,506 (3.2%) | [35] | |||
Samuel R. Mason (Grb.) | 81,758 (11.64%) | |||||||||
1882 | Henry M. Hoyt | Robert E. Pattison | 355,791 (47.80%) | James A. Beaver | 315,589 (42.40%) | 40,202 (5.4%) | [36] [note 3] | |||
John Stewart (Ind. Rep.) | 43,743 (5.88%) | |||||||||
1886 | Robert E. Pattison | James A. Beaver | 412,285 (50.33%) | Chauncey F. Black | 369,634 (45.12%) | 42,651 (5.21%) | [37] | |||
1890 | James A. Beaver | Robert E. Pattison | 464,209 (50.02%) | George W. Delamater | 447,655 (45.12%) | 16,554 (4.9%) | [38] [note 4] | |||
1894 | Robert E. Pattison | Daniel H. Hastings | 574,801 (60.31%) | William M. Singerly | 334,404 (34.98%) | 241,397 (25.33%) | [39] | |||
1898 | Daniel H. Hastings | William A. Stone | 476,206 (49.01%) | George A. Jenks | 358,300 (36.87%) | 117,906 (12.14%) | [40] | |||
Silas C. Swallow | 132,931 (13.68%) | |||||||||
1902 | William A. Stone | Samuel W. Pennypacker | 593,328 (54.20%) | Robert E. Pattison | 450,978 (41.19%) | 142,350 (13.01%) | [41] [note 5] | |||
1906 | Samuel W. Pennypacker | Edwin Stuart | 506,418 (50.31%) | Lewis Emery Jr. | 458,064 (45.51%) | 48,354 (4.8%) | [42] | |||
1910 | Edwin Stuart | John K. Tener | 415,614 (41.63%) | William H. Berry | 382,127 (38.27%) | 33,487 (3.36%) | [43] [note 6] | |||
Webster Grim | 129,395 (12.96%) | |||||||||
1914 | John K. Tener | Martin Brumbaugh | 588,705 (52.98%) | Vance C. McCormick | 453,880 (40.84%) | 134,825 (12.14%) | [44] | |||
1918 | Martin Brumbaugh | William Sproul | 552,537 (61.05%) | Eugene C. Bonniwell | 305,315 (33.74%) | 247,222 (27.31%) | [45] | |||
1922 | William Sproul | Gifford Pinchot | 831,696 (56.79%) | John A. McSparran | 581,625 (39.71%) | 250,071 (17.08%) | [46] | |||
1926 | Gifford Pinchot | John Fisher | 1,102,823 (73.35%) | Eugene C. Bonniwell | 365,280 (24.29%) | 737,543 (49.06%) | [47] | |||
1930 | John Fisher | Gifford Pinchot | 1,068,874 (50.77%) | John M. Hemphill | 1,010,204 (47.98%) | 58,670 (2.79%) | [48] [note 7] | |||
1934 | Gifford Pinchot | George Earle | 1,476,377 (50.04%) | William A. Schnader | 1,410,138 (47.80%) | 66,239 (2.24%) | [49] | |||
1938 | George Earle | Arthur James | 2,035,340 (53.39%) | Charles Jones | 1,756,192 (46.07%) | 279,148 (7.32%) | [50] | |||
1942 | Arthur James | Edward Martin | 1,367,531 (53.67%) | F. Clair Ross | 1,149,897 (45.13%) | 217,634 (8.54%) | [51] | |||
1946 | John C. Bell, Jr. | James H. Duff | 1,828,462 (58.53%) | John S. Rice | 1,270,947 (40.68%) | 557,515 (17.85%) | [52] [note 8] | |||
1950 | James H. Duff | John S. Fine | 1,796,119 (50.74%) | Richardson Dilworth | 1,710,355 (48.31%) | 85,764 (2.43%) | [53] | |||
1954 | John S. Fine | George M. Leader | 1,990,266 (53.58%) | Lloyd H. Wood | 1,717,070 (46.23%) | 273,196 (7.35%) | [54] | |||
1958 | George M. Leader | David L. Lawrence | 2,024,852 (50.79%) | Arthur T. McGonigle | 1,948,769 (48.88%) | 76,083 (1.91%) | [55] | |||
1962 | David L. Lawrence | William Scranton | 2,424,918 (55.39%) | Richardson Dilworth | 1,938,627 (44.28%) | 486,291 (11.11%) | [56] | |||
1966 | William Scranton | Raymond P. Shafer | 2,110,349 (52.10%) | Milton Shapp | 1,868,719 (46.13%) | 241,630 (5.97%) | [57] | |||
1970 | Raymond P. Shafer | Milton Shapp | 2,043,029 (55.22%) | Raymond J. Broderick | 1,542,854 (41.70%) | 500,175 (13.52%) | [58] | |||
1974 | Milton Shapp | Milton Shapp | 1,878,252 (53.66%) | Andrew L. Lewis, Jr. | 1,578,917 (45.11%) | 299,335 (11.96%) | [59] | |||
1978 | Milton Shapp | Dick Thornburgh | 1,966,042 (52.54%) | Peter F. Flaherty | 1,737,888 (46.44%) | 228,154 (6.1%) | [60] | |||
1982 | Dick Thornburgh | Dick Thornburgh | 1,872,784 (50.84%) | Allen E. Ertel | 1,772,353 (46.44%) | 100,431 (4.4%) | [61] | |||
1986 | Dick Thornburgh | Robert P. Casey | 1,717,484 (50.69%) | William Scranton III | 1,638,268 (48.35%) | 79,216 (2.34%) | [62] | |||
1990 | Robert P. Casey | Robert P. Casey | 2,065,281 (67.65%) | Barbara Hafer | 987,463 (32.35%) | 1,077,818 (35.3%) | [63] | |||
1994 | Robert P. Casey | Tom Ridge | 1,627,976 (45.40%) | Mark Singel | 1,430,099 (39.89%) | 197,877 (5.51%) | [64] | |||
Peg Luksik | 460,269 (12.84%) | |||||||||
1998 | Tom Ridge | Tom Ridge | 1,736,844 (57.42%) | Ivan Itkin | 938,745 (31.03%) | 798,099 (26.39%) | [65] | |||
Peg Luksik | 315,761 (10.44%) | |||||||||
2002 | Mark S. Schweiker | Ed Rendell | 1,913,235 (53.41%) | Mike Fisher | 1,589,408 (44.37%) | 323,827 (9.04%) | [66] [note 9] | |||
2006 | Ed Rendell | Ed Rendell | 2,470,517 (60.36%) | Lynn Swann | 1,622,135 (39.64%) | 848,382 (20.72%) | [67] | |||
2010 | Ed Rendell | Tom Corbett | 2,172,763 (54.49%) | Dan Onorato | 1,814,788 (45.51%) | 357,975 (8.98%) | [68] | |||
2014 | Tom Corbett | Tom Wolf | 1,920,355 (54.93%) | Tom Corbett | 1,575,511 (45.07%) | 344,844 (9.86%) | [69] | |||
2018 | Tom Wolf | Tom Wolf | 2,895,652 (57.77%) | Scott Wagner | 2,039,882 (40.70%) | 855,770 (17.07%) | [70] | |||
2022 | Tom Wolf | Josh Shapiro | 3,031,137 (56.05%) | Doug Mastriano | 2,238,477 (41.07%) | 792,660 (14.40%) | [71] |
The Pennsylvania Republican Party (PAGOP) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg.
The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently of the gubernatorial primary. The winners of the party primaries are then teamed together as a single ticket for the fall general election. The lieutenant governor presides in the Pennsylvania State Senate and is first in the line of succession to the governor; in the event the governor dies, resigns, or otherwise leaves office, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.
Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 2, 2004, with even-numbered districts being contested. State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the Senate seats up for a vote every two years. The term of office for those elected in 2004 will run from January 4, 2005 through November 2008. Necessary primary elections were held on April 27, 2004.
The 2006 Elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 7, 2006, with even-numbered districts being contested. Necessary primary elections were held on May 16, 2006. State Senators are elected for four-year terms, with half of the Senate seats up for a vote every two years. Members elected in 2006 were inaugurated on January 2, 2007.
The 2004 Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were held on November 2, 2004, with all districts being contested. Necessary primary elections were held on April 27, 2004. Necessary primary elections were held on May 21, 2002. The term of office for those elected in 2004 ran from January 4, 2005 through November 2006. State Representatives are elected for two-year terms, with the entire House of Representatives up for a vote every two years.
Elections for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives were held on November 7, 2000, with all districts being contested. State Representatives are elected for two-year terms, with the entire House of Representatives up for a vote every two years. The term of office for those elected in 2000 ran from January 3, 2001 until November 30, 2002. Necessary primary elections were held on April 4, 2000.
The 1790–91 United States Senate elections were the second series of elections of senators in the United States. In these elections, terms were up for the nine senators in Class 1. As of these elections, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of senators who supported President George Washington's administration were known as the Pro-Administration Party, and the senators against him as the Anti-Administration Party.
The 1848–49 United States Senate elections were elections which had the Democratic Party lose seats but maintain control of the United States Senate.
The 1856–57 United States Senate elections were elections which had the young Republican Party assume its position as one of the United States's two main political parties. The Whigs and Free Soilers were gone by the time the next Congress began.
The 1788–89 United States Senate elections were the first elections for the United States Senate, which coincided with the election of President George Washington. As of this election, formal organized political parties had yet to form in the United States, but two political factions were present: The coalition of senators who supported George Washington's administration were known as "Pro-Administration", and the senators against him as "Anti-Administration".
The 1793 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 5, 1793. Incumbent Democratic-Republican governor Thomas Mifflin sought re-election to another term, defeating Federalist candidate and U.S. Representative Frederick Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg only won two counties: York and Bedford. However, Mifflin's 2-1 vote margin was down from his 10-1 victory margin in the 1790 gubernatorial election.
The 1790 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was the first gubernatorial election after the establishment of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a U.S. state. Thomas Mifflin, the incumbent President of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was elected as the first Governor of Pennsylvania. He defeated Federalist candidate Arthur St. Clair, former Revolutionary War general and President of the Continental Congress, by a wide margin.
The 1930 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election occurred on November 4, 1930. Incumbent Republican governor John Stuchell Fisher was not a candidate for re-election. Republican candidate and former governor Gifford Pinchot defeated Democratic candidate John M. Hemphill to win a second, non-consecutive term as Governor of Pennsylvania.
The 1797 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on February 16, 1797. Incumbent James Ross was re-elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate.
United States presidential elections in Pennsylvania occur when voters in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cast ballots for electors to the Electoral College as part of a national election to elect the President and Vice President of the United States. Regularly scheduled general elections occur on Election Day, coinciding with elections in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia.
The 2014 elections for the Pennsylvania State Senate were held on November 4, 2014, with all even-numbered districts being contested. Primary elections were held on May 20, 2014. The term of office for those elected in 2014 began when the Senate convened in January 2015. Pennsylvania State Senators are elected to four-year terms, with 25 of the 50 seats contested every two years.
The 2018 Northern Mariana gubernatorial election took place on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, to elect the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands to a four-year term in office. Incumbent Republican governor Ralph Torres, who ascended to governorship in December 2015 following the death of Governor Eloy Inos, sought election to a full term.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2022, in 36 states and three territories. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regular gubernatorial elections for all but two of the seats took place in 2018 U.S. gubernatorial elections. The gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, as part of the 2022 midterm elections.