1981 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 1981, in two states and one territory. Both state seats were open due to term limits, and both also switched parties, resulting in zero net change for both parties.

1981 United States gubernatorial elections

← 1980 November 3, 1981 1982 →

3 governorships
2 states; 1 territory
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Seats before 27 23
Seats after 27 23
Seat change Steady Steady
Seats up 1 1
Seats won 1 1

1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election1981 Virginia gubernatorial election
  Republican gain
  Democratic gain

Election results

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States

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State Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
New Jersey[1] Brendan Byrne Democratic 1973 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.
Virginia[2] John N. Dalton Republican 1977 Incumbent term-limited.
New governor elected.
Democratic gain.

Territories

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State Incumbent Party First
elected
Result Candidates
Northern Mariana Islands[3][4] Carlos Camacho Democratic 1977 Incumbent lost re-election.
New governor elected.
Republican gain.

References

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  1. ^ "Votes Cast for the Office of Governor of the State of New Jersey" (PDF). Secretary of State of New Jersey. 1981. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Official Election Results 1981" (PDF). Virginia State Board of Elections. 1981. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  3. ^ "Outcome Unchanged By Ballot Count". Marianas Variety. Vol. 10, no. 35. November 13, 1981. p. 3. Retrieved June 12, 2024 – via eVols. With all the absentee votes counted and challenges disposed of, the results of the Nov. 1 election remain the same.
  4. ^ "Incomplete Semi-Official Election Results". Marianas Variety. Vol. 10, no. 34. November 6, 1981. p. 2. Retrieved December 17, 2021 – via eVols.