United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 1996, in 11 states and two territories. Going into the elections, seven of the seats were held by Democrats and four by Republicans. Democrats picked up the open seat in New Hampshire, and Republicans picked up the open seat in West Virginia, for no net change in the partisan balance of power. These elections coincided with the presidential election.
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13 governorships 11 states; 2 territories | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map of the results Democratic gain Democratic hold Republican gain Republican hold New Progressive hold Nonpartisan No election |
Election results
editStates
editState | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
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Delaware | Tom Carper | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Indiana | Evan Bayh | Democratic | 1988 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. |
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Missouri | Mel Carnahan | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Montana | Marc Racicot | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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New Hampshire | Steve Merrill | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain. |
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North Carolina | Jim Hunt | Democratic | 1976 1984 (term-limited) 1992 |
Incumbent re-elected. |
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North Dakota | Ed Schafer | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Utah | Mike Leavitt | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Vermont | Howard Dean | Democratic | 1991[b] | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Washington | Mike Lowry | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. |
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West Virginia | Gaston Caperton | Democratic | 1988 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. |
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Territories
editTerritory | Incumbent | Party | First elected |
Result | Candidates |
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American Samoa | A. P. Lutali | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected.[1] Democratic hold. |
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Puerto Rico | Pedro Rosselló | New Progressive | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. |
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Closest races
editStates where the margin of victory was under 5%:
- American Samoa, 2.0%
- Indiana, 4.7%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- West Virginia, 5.8%
- Puerto Rico, 6.7%
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Mike Huckabee (R) succeeded Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker (D) after the latter resigned due to convictions for one count of conspiracy and one count of mail fraud.
- ^ Dean took office after his predecessor (Richard Snelling) died. He was subsequently elected in the 1992 Vermont gubernatorial election.
References
edit- ^ "AS Governor Race - Dec 05, 1996". Our Campaigns. July 30, 2008.