2003 United States gubernatorial elections

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.

2003 United States gubernatorial elections

← 2002 October 4 and 7, and November 6 and 15, 2003 2004 →

4 governorships[a]
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 26 24
Seats after 28 22
Seat change Increase 2 Decrease 2
Seats up 1 3
Seats won 3 1

2003 California gubernatorial election2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election
Map of the results
     Republican gain      Democratic gain
     No election

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

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State Incumbent Last
race
Sabato
September 2,
2003
[1]
Result
California (recall) Gray Davis 47.3% D Tossup Schwarzenegger
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

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State Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
California
(recall)
Gray Davis Democratic 1998 Incumbent recalled.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.
Vote on recall
  •  Y Yes 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

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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)

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2003 California gubernatorial recall election
 
← 2002 October 7, 2003 2006 →
Turnout61.20%[2]  34.4pp
Vote on recall
Shall Gray Davis be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?
Results
Choice
Votes %
  Yes 4,976,274 55.39%
  No 4,007,783 44.61%
Valid votes 8,984,057 95.44%
Invalid or blank votes 429,431 4.56%
Total votes 9,413,488 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 15,380,536 61.2%
 
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%
       
Candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger Cruz Bustamante Tom McClintock
Party Republican Democratic Republican
Popular vote 4,206,284 2,724,874 1,161,287
Percentage 48.6% 31.5% 13.4%

 
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

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2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election
 
← 1999 November 4, 2003 2007 →
     
Nominee Ernie Fletcher Ben Chandler
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Steve Pence Charlie Owen
Popular vote 596,284 487,159
Percentage 55.0% 45.0%

 
 
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

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2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election
 
← 1999 October 4, 2003 (first round)
November 15, 2003 (runoff)
2007 →
       
Nominee Kathleen Blanco Bobby Jindal Richard Ieyoub
Party Democratic Republican Democratic
First round 250,136
18.36%
443,389
32.54%
223,513
16.4%
Runoff 731,358
51.95%
676,484
48.05%
Eliminated

       
Nominee Buddy Leach Randy Ewing Hunt Downer
Party Democratic Democratic Republican
First round 187,872
13.79%
123,936
9.1%
84,718
6.22%
Runoff Eliminated Eliminated Eliminated

 
 
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

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2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election
 
← 1999 November 4, 2003 2007 →
     
Nominee Haley Barbour Ronnie Musgrove
Party Republican Democratic
Electoral vote 76 46
Popular vote 470,404 409,787
Percentage 52.59% 45.81%

 
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

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Notes

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  1. ^ including a recall election in California

References

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  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.
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