1986 United States gubernatorial elections

1986 United States gubernatorial elections
38 governorships ; 36 states; 2 territories
	Republican hold Republican gain Democratic hold Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 1986, in 36 states and two territories. The Democrats had a net loss of eight seats during this election, which coincided with the Senate and the House elections. This was despite the Democratic trend on a federal level, making this the last midterm election until 2022 where the party of the incumbent president achieved a net gain of governorships.

Election results

A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Alabama	George Wallace	Democratic	1962 1966 (term-limited) 1970 1978 (term-limited) 1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y H. Guy Hunt (Republican) 56.4% Bill Baxley (Democratic) 43.6%
Alaska	Bill Sheffield	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-nomination. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Steve Cowper (Democratic) 47.3% Arliss Sturgulewski (Republican) 42.6% Joe Vogler (Alaskan Ind.) 5.6% Wally Hickel (write-in) 2.8% Mary Jane O'Brannon (Libertarian) 0.6%
Arizona	Bruce Babbitt	Democratic	1978^[a]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Evan Mecham (Republican) 39.7% Carolyn Warner (Democratic) 34.5% Bill Schulz (Independent) 25.8%
Arkansas	Bill Clinton	Democratic	1978 1980 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 63.9% Frank D. White (Republican) 36.1%
California	George Deukmejian	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George Deukmejian (Republican) 60.2% Tom Bradley (Democratic) 37.2% Maria Elizabeth Muñoz (PF) 1.3% Joseph Fuhrig (Libertarian) 0.7%< Gary V. Miller (American Ind.) 0.7%
Colorado	Richard Lamm	Democratic	1974	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Roy Romer (Democratic) 58.2% Ted Strickland (Republican) 41.0% Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.8%
Connecticut	William A. O'Neill	Democratic	1980^[b]	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William A. O'Neill (Democratic) 58.5% Julie Belaga (Republican) 41.5%
Florida	Bob Graham	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bob Martinez (Republican) 54.6% Steve Pajcic (Democratic) 45.4%
Georgia	Joe Frank Harris	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) 70.5% Guy Davis (Republican) 29.5%
Hawaii	George Ariyoshi	Democratic	1974	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y John D. Waiheʻe III (Democratic) 52.0% D. G. Anderson (Republican) 48.0%
Idaho	John Evans	Democratic	1978^[c]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Cecil Andrus (Democratic) 50.5% David H. Leroy (Republican) 49.5%
Illinois	James R. Thompson	Republican	1976	Incumbent re-elected	Y James R. Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Adlai Stevenson III (Solidarity) 40.0% No candidate^[d] (Democratic) 6.6% Gary L. Shilts (Libertarian) 0.5%
Iowa	Terry Branstad	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Terry Branstad (Republican) 51.9% Lowell Junkins (Democratic) 48.0%
Kansas	John W. Carlin	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Mike Hayden (Republican) 51.9% Thomas R. Docking (Democratic) 48.1%
Maine	Joseph E. Brennan	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) 39.9% James Tierney (Democratic) 30.2% Sherry Huber (Independent) 15.1% John Menario (Independent) 14.9%
Maryland	Harry Hughes	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y William Donald Schaefer (Democratic) 82.4% Thomas J. Mooney (Republican) 17.6%
Massachusetts	Michael Dukakis	Democratic	1974 1978 (lost renomination) 1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 68.8% George Kariotis (Republican) 31.2%
Michigan	James Blanchard	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y James Blanchard (Democratic) 68.1% William Lucas (Republican) 31.5%
Minnesota	Rudy Perpich	Democratic	1976^[e] 1978 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected	Y Rudy Perpich (Democratic) 56.1% Cal Ludeman (Republican) 43.1%
Nebraska	Bob Kerrey	Democratic	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Kay A. Orr (Republican) 52.9% Helen Boosalis (Democratic) 47.1%
Nevada	Richard Bryan	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Richard Bryan (Democratic) 71.9% Patricia Dillon Cafferata (Republican) 25.0% None of These Candidates 2.1% Louis R. Tomburello (Libertarian) 1.0%
New Hampshire	John H. Sununu	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John H. Sununu (Republican) 53.7% Paul McEachern (Democratic) 46.3%
New Mexico	Toney Anaya	Democratic	1982	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Garrey Carruthers (Republican) 53.0% Ray Powell (Democratic) 47.0%
New York	Mario Cuomo	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Mario Cuomo (Democratic) 64.3% Andrew P. O'Rourke (Republican) 31.8% Denis Dillon (Right to Life) 3.1% Lenora Fulani (New Alliance) 0.6%
Ohio	Dick Celeste	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Dick Celeste (Democratic) 60.6% Jim Rhodes (Republican) 39.4%
Oklahoma	George Nigh	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Henry Bellmon (Republican) 48.1% David Walters (Democratic) 45.2% Jerry Brown (Independent) 6.7%
Oregon	Victor Atiyeh	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic) 52.0% Norma Paulus (Republican) 48.0%
Pennsylvania	Dick Thornburgh	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Bob Casey Sr. (Democratic) 50.7% William Scranton III (Republican) 48.4% Heidi Hoover (Consumer) 1.0%
Rhode Island	Edward D. DiPrete	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 64.7% Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) 32.4% Robert Healey (Cool Moose) 1.9% Tony Affigne (Citizens) 1.1%
South Carolina	Richard Riley	Democratic	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) 51.0% Michael R. Daniel (Democratic) 47.9% William H. Griffin (Libertarian) 0.6%
South Dakota	Bill Janklow	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y George S. Mickelson (Republican) 51.8% Lars Herseth (Democratic) 48.2%
Tennessee	Lamar Alexander	Republican	1978	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Ned McWherter (Democratic) 54.3% Winfield Dunn (Republican) 45.7%
Texas	Mark White	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bill Clements (Republican) 52.7% Mark White (Democratic) 46.0% Theresa S. Doyle (Libertarian) 1.2%
Vermont	Madeleine Kunin	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.^[f]^[1]	Y Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 47.0% Peter Plympton Smith (Republican) 38.3% Bernie Sanders (Independent) 14.5%
Wisconsin	Tony Earl	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Tommy Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Tony Earl (Democratic) 46.2% Kathryn Christenson (Labor and Farm) 0.7%
Wyoming	Edward Herschler	Democratic	1974	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 54.0% Pete Simpson (Republican) 46.0%

Territories and federal district

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
District of Columbia	Marion Barry	Democratic	1978	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Marion Barry (Democratic) 61.4% Carol Schwartz (Republican) 32.8% Brian Moore (Independent) 2.7% Josephine D. Butler (Statehood Green) 1.7%
Guam	Ricardo Bordallo	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election.^[2] New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Joseph Franklin Ada (Republican) 53.8% Ricardo Bordallo (Democratic) 46.2%
U.S. Virgin Islands	Juan Francisco Luis	Independent	1978	Incumbent term-limited.^[3] New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Alexander Farrelly (Democratic) 65.4% Adelbert Bryan (ICM) 34.6%

Notes

^ Babbitt took office after his predecessor (Wesley Bolin) died.
^ O'Neill took office after his predecessor (Ella Grasso) resigned. He was subsequently elected in the 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election.
^ Evans took office after his predecessor (Cecil Andrus) resigned.
^ Stevenson was originally the Democratic gubernatorial nominee but later withdrew when several Lyndon LaRouche supporters won spots on the Democratic ticket. See Solidarity Party for more details
^ Perpich took office after his predecessor (Wendell R. Anderson) resigned.
^ Kunin did not win a majority of the votes; therefore, the state assembly had to cast the final vote.

References

^ "VT Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
^ "Guam Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.
^ "USVI Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

[1] Babbitt took office after his predecessor (Wesley Bolin) died.

[2] O'Neill took office after his predecessor (Ella Grasso) resigned. He was subsequently elected in the 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election.

[3] Evans took office after his predecessor (Cecil Andrus) resigned.

[4] Stevenson was originally the Democratic gubernatorial nominee but later withdrew when several Lyndon LaRouche supporters won spots on the Democratic ticket. See Solidarity Party for more details

[5] Perpich took office after his predecessor (Wendell R. Anderson) resigned.

[6] Kunin did not win a majority of the votes; therefore, the state assembly had to cast the final vote.

[7] "VT Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2022-03-18.

[8] "Guam Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

[9] "USVI Governor Race - Nov 04, 1986". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

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