Plurality Winners in
General Elections for Governors, 1948-2003
Sorted by State
Party takeover refers to elections in which the winner was from a
non-incumbent party.
State |
Year |
Winner |
Winning % |
Party Takeover |
Alabama |
2002 |
Bob Riley |
49.0 |
Yes |
Alaska |
1978 |
Jay S. Hammond |
39.1 |
|
Alaska |
1982 |
Bill Sheffield |
46.1 |
Yes |
Alaska |
1986 |
Steve Cowper |
47.3 |
|
Alaska |
1990 |
Walter J. Hickel |
39.0 |
Yes |
Alaska |
1994 |
Tony Knowles |
41.1 |
Yes |
Arizona |
1986 |
Evan Mecham |
39.7 |
Yes |
Arizona |
2002 |
Janet Napolitano |
46.0 |
Yes |
California |
1982 |
George Deukmeiian |
49.3 |
Yes |
California |
1990 |
Pete Wilson |
49.0 |
|
California |
2002 |
Gray Davis |
47.0 |
|
California |
2003 |
Arnold Schwarzenegger |
48.6 |
Yes |
Colorado |
1998 |
Bill Owens |
49.0 |
Yes |
Connecticut |
1948 |
Chester Bowles |
49.3 |
Yes |
Connecticut |
1950 |
John D. Lodge |
49.7 |
Yes |
Connecticut |
1954 |
Abraham A. Ribicoff |
49.5 |
Yes |
Connecticut |
1990 |
Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. |
40.0 |
Yes |
Connecticut |
1994 |
John Rowland |
36.0 |
Yes |
Hawaii |
1982 |
George R. Ariyoshi |
45.2 |
|
Hawaii |
1994 |
Benjamin Cayetano |
37.0 |
|
Idaho |
1966 |
Don Samuelson |
41.4 |
|
Idaho |
1986 |
Cecil D. Adrus |
49.9 |
|
Illinois |
1982 |
James R. Thompson |
49.4 |
|
Kansas |
1974 |
Robert F. Bennett |
49.5 |
Yes |
Kansas |
1978 |
John Carlin |
49.4 |
Yes |
Kansas |
1990 |
Joan Finney |
49.0 |
Yes |
Maine |
1974 |
James B. Longley |
39.1 |
Yes |
Maine |
1978 |
Joseph E. Brennan |
47.7 |
Yes |
Maine |
1986 |
John R. McKernan, Jr. |
39.9 |
Yes |
Maine |
1990 |
John R. McKernan, Jr. |
47.0 |
|
Maine |
1994 |
Angus King |
35.0 |
Yes |
Maine |
2002 |
John Baldacci |
47.0 |
Yes |
Massachusetts |
1952 |
Paul A. Dever |
49.9 |
Yes |
Massachusetts |
1962 |
Endicott Peabody |
49.9 |
Yes |
Massachusetts |
2002 |
Mitt Romney |
49.8 |
|
Michigan |
1950 |
G. Mennen Williams |
49.8 |
|
Michigan |
1990 |
John Engler |
49.8 |
Yes |
Minnesota |
1962 |
Karl F. Rolvaag |
49.7 |
Yes |
Minnesota |
1990 |
Arne Carlson |
49.6 |
Yes |
Minnesota |
1998 |
Jesse Ventura |
37.0 |
Yes |
Minnesota |
2002 |
Tim Pawlenty |
44.0 |
Yes |
Mississippi |
1999 |
Ronnie Musgrove |
49.6 |
Yes |
Missouri |
2000 |
Bob Holden |
49.0 |
|
Nebraska |
1990 |
Ben Nelson |
49.9 |
Yes |
Nevada |
1970 |
Mike O'Callaghan |
48.1 |
Yes |
New Hampshire |
1970 |
Walter R. Peterson |
46.0 |
|
New Hampshire |
1972 |
Meldrim Thomson |
41.4 |
|
New Hampshire |
1978 |
Hugh J. Gallen |
49.4 |
Yes |
New Hampshire |
2000 |
Jean Shaheen |
49.0 |
|
New Jersey |
1981 |
Thomas H. Kean |
49.5 |
Yes |
New Jersey |
1993 |
Christine Todd Whitman |
49.0 |
Yes |
New Jersey |
1997 |
Christine Todd Whitman |
47.0 |
|
New Mexico |
1974 |
Jerry Apodaca |
49.9 |
|
New Mexico |
1994 |
Gary Johnson |
49.9 |
Yes |
New York |
1954 |
Averell Harriman |
49.6 |
Yes |
New York |
1966 |
Nelson A. Rockefeller |
44.6 |
|
New York |
1994 |
George Pataki |
49.0 |
Yes |
New York |
2002 |
George Pataki |
49.0 |
|
North Dakota |
1960 |
William L. Guy |
49.4 |
Yes |
Ohio |
1974 |
James A. Rhodes |
48.6 |
Yes |
Ohio |
1978 |
James A. Rhodes |
49.3 |
|
Oklahoma |
1970 |
David Hall |
48.4 |
Yes |
Oklahoma |
1986 |
Henry Bellmon |
47.5 |
Yes |
Oklahoma |
1994 |
Frank Keating |
47.0 |
Yes |
Oklahoma |
2002 |
Brad Henry |
43.0 |
Yes |
Oregon |
1990 |
Barbara Roberts |
43.0 |
|
Oregon |
2002 |
Ted Kulongoski |
49.0 |
|
Pennsylvania |
1994 |
Tom Ridge |
45.0 |
Yes |
Rhode Island |
1994 |
Lincoln Almond |
47.0 |
Yes |
Texas |
1972 |
Dolph Briscoe |
47.9 |
|
Texas |
1990 |
Ann W. Richards |
49.0 |
Yes |
Utah |
1956 |
George D. Clyde |
38.2 |
|
Utah |
1988 |
Norman H. Bangerter |
40.1 |
|
Utah |
1992 |
Michael Leavitt |
42.0 |
|
Vermont |
1986 |
Madeleine M. Kunin |
47.0 |
|
Vermont |
2002 |
Jim Douglas |
45.0 |
Yes |
Virginia |
1965 |
Mills E. Godwin |
47.9 |
|
Wisconsin |
2002 |
James Doyle |
45.0 |
Yes |
Wyoming |
1958 |
J. J. Hickey |
48.9 |
Yes |
Wyoming |
2002 |
Dave Freudenthal |
49.9 |
Yes |
|