Fort Towson

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 1990, in 36 states and two territories. Most elected in these elections would serve for a 4-year term, while those in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont would serve for a 2-year term. The elections coincided with the mid-term elections for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. Heading into the elections, there were 20 seats held by Democrats and 16 held by Republicans. By the end of the elections, 19 seats would be held by a Democrat, 15 would be held by a Republican, and two would be held by other parties.

Notably, in these elections, there were two people elected from a third party: former Alaskan governor and Secretary of the Interior under President Nixon Walter Joseph Hickel was elected governor as a part of the Alaskan Independence Party, and former U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut won on A Connecticut Party's ticket. In addition to Weicker, two other U.S. senators were elected governors that year, Republican Pete Wilson of California and Democrat Lawton Chiles of Florida. The 1990 cycle saw six incumbent governors defeated. These were Republicans Mike Hayden of Kansas, Kay Orr of Nebraska, Bob Martinez of Florida and Edward DiPrete of Rhode Island, as well as Democrats James Blanchard of Michigan and Rudy Perpich of Minnesota.

In 1988, Arizona voters approved a runoff-style election following the impeachment of governor Evan Mecham. Because no candidate received a majority (50%) of the vote in the November election, a run-off election occurred on February 26, 1991. This style of voting was later repealed in 1992.

As of 2024, this is the last time a Democrat was elected governor in Idaho or Texas, as well as the last time a Third party won in Connecticut.

Election results

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Alabama	H. Guy Hunt	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y H. Guy Hunt (Republican) 52.1% Paul Hubbert (Democratic) 47.9%
Alaska	Steve Cowper	Democratic	1986	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. AK Independence gain.	Y Wally Hickel (AK Independence) 38.9% Tony Knowles (Democratic) 30.9% Arliss Sturgulewski (Republican) 26.2% Jim Sykes (Green) 3.4%
Arizona	Rose Mofford	Democratic	1988^[a]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Fife Symington (Republican) 52.4% Terry Goddard (Democratic) 47.6%
Arkansas	Bill Clinton	Democratic	1978 1980 (defeated) 1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 57.5% Sheffield Nelson (Republican) 42.5%
California	George Deukmejian	Republican	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Pete Wilson (Republican) 49.2% Dianne Feinstein (Democratic) 45.8% Dennis Thompson (Libertarian) 1.9% Jerome McCready (American Independent) 1.8% Maria E. Muñoz (Peace and Freedom) 1.3%
Colorado	Roy Romer	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Roy Romer (Democratic) 61.9% John Andrews (Republican) 35.4% David Aitken (Libertarian) 1.9%
Connecticut	William A. O'Neill	Democratic	1980^[b]	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. A Connecticut Party gain.	Y Lowell Weicker (A Connecticut Party) 40.4% John G. Rowland (Republican) 37.5% Bruce Morrison (Democratic) 20.7% Joseph Zdonczyk (Concerned Citizens) 1.4%
Florida	Bob Martinez	Republican	1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Lawton Chiles (Democratic) 56.5% Bob Martinez (Republican) 43.5%
Georgia	Joe Frank Harris	Democratic	1982	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Zell Miller (Democratic) 52.9% Johnny Isakson (Republican) 44.5% Carole Ann Rand (Libertarian) 2.6%
Hawaii	John D. Waiheʻe III	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John D. Waiheʻe III (Democratic) 59.8% Fred Hemmings (Republican) 38.6%
Idaho	Cecil Andrus	Democratic	1970 1977 (resigned) 1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Cecil Andrus (Democratic) 68.2% Roger Fairchild (Republican) 31.8%
Illinois	James R. Thompson	Republican	1976	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Jim Edgar (Republican) 50.7% Neil Hartigan (Democratic) 48.2% Jessie Fields (Solidarity) 1.1%
Iowa	Terry Branstad	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Terry Branstad (Republican) 60.6% Donald Avenson (Democratic) 38.8%
Kansas	Mike Hayden	Republican	1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Joan Finney (Democratic) 48.6% Mike Hayden (Republican) 42.6% Christina Campbell-Cline (Independent) 8.8%
Maine	John R. McKernan Jr.	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) 46.7% Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic) 44.0% Andrew Adam (Independent) 9.3%
Maryland	William D. Schaefer	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y William D. Schaefer (Democratic) 59.8% William S. Shepard (Republican) 40.2%
Massachusetts	Michael Dukakis	Democratic	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Bill Weld (Republican) 50.2% John Silber (Democratic) 46.9% Leonard Umina (Independent) 2.7%
Michigan	James Blanchard	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y John Engler (Republican) 49.8% James Blanchard (Democratic) 49.1% William Roundtree (Workers World) 1.1%
Minnesota	Rudy Perpich	Democratic	1982	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Arne Carlson (Republican) 50.1% Rudy Perpich (Democratic) 46.8% Heart Warrior Chosa (EarthRIGHT) 1.2% Ross S. Culverhouse (Grassroots) 1.0%
Nebraska	Kay A. Orr	Republican	1986	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Ben Nelson (Democratic) 49.9% Kay A. Orr (Republican) 49.2%
Nevada	Bob Miller	Democratic	1989^[c]	Incumbent elected to full term.	Y Bob Miller (Democratic) 64.8% Jim Gallaway (Republican) 29.9% None of These Candidates 2.8% James Frye (Libertarian) 2.5%
New Hampshire	Judd Gregg	Republican	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Judd Gregg (Republican) 60.3% Joseph Grandmaison (Democratic) 34.5% Miriam Luce (Libertarian) 4.9%
New Mexico	Garrey Carruthers	Republican	1986	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Bruce King (Democratic) 54.6% Frank M. Bond (Republican) 45.2%
New York	Mario Cuomo	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Mario Cuomo (Democratic) 53.2% Pierre A. Rinfret (Republican) 21.3% Herbert London (Conservative) 20.4% Louis P. Wein (Right to Life) 3.4%
Ohio	Dick Celeste	Democratic	1982	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y George Voinovich (Republican) 55.7% Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. (Democratic) 44.3%
Oklahoma	Henry Bellmon	Republican	1986	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y David Walters (Democratic) 57.4% Bill Price (Republican) 32.7% Thomas Ledgerwood (Independent) 9.9%
Oregon	Neil Goldschmidt	Democratic	1986	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Barbara Roberts (Democratic) 45.7% David B. Frohnmayer (Republican) 40.0% Al Mobley (Independent) 13.0% Fred Oerther (Libertarian) 1.3%
Pennsylvania	Bob Casey Sr.	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Bob Casey Sr. (Democratic) 67.6% Barbara Hafer (Republican) 32.3%
Rhode Island	Edward D. DiPrete	Republican	1984	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) 74.2% Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 25.8%
South Carolina	Carroll A. Campbell Jr.	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) 69.5% Theo Mitchell (Democratic) 27.8% John Peeples (American) 2.3%
South Dakota	George S. Mickelson	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y George S. Mickelson (Republican) 58.9% Bob L. Samuelson (Democratic) 41.1%
Tennessee	Ned McWherter	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Ned McWherter (Democratic) 60.8% Dwight Henry (Republican) 36.6% W. Curtis Jacox (Independent) 1.4% David B. Shepard (Independent) 1.1%
Texas	Bill Clements	Republican	1978 1982 (defeated) 1986	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Ann Richards (Democratic) 49.5% Clayton Williams (Republican) 46.9% Jeff Daiell (Libertarian) 3.3%
Vermont	Madeleine Kunin	Democratic	1984	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Richard A. Snelling (Republican) 51.8% Peter Welch (Democratic) 46.0% David Atkinson (Libertarian) 1.3%
Wisconsin	Tommy Thompson	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Tommy Thompson (Republican) 58.1% Thomas A. Loftus (Democratic) 41.8%
Wyoming	Mike Sullivan	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 65.3% Mary Mead (Republican) 34.6%

Territories and federal district

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
District of Columbia	Marion Barry	Democratic	1978	Incumbent retired. New mayor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Sharon Pratt (Democratic) 86.1% Maurice Turner (Republican) 11.5%
Guam	Joseph Franklin Ada	Republican	1986	Incumbent re-elected.^[1]	Y Joseph Franklin Ada (Republican) 56.9% Madeleine Bordallo (Democratic) 43.1%
U.S. Virgin Islands	Alexander Farrelly	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected.^[2]	Y Alexander Farrelly (Democratic) 56.5% Juan Francisco Luis (Independent) 38.5%

Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:

Michigan, 0.7%
Nebraska, 0.7%

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

Illinois, 2.5%
Texas, 2.6%
Maine, 2.7%
Connecticut, 2.9%
Massachusetts, 3.3%
Minnesota, 3.3%
California, 3.4%
Alabama, 4.2%
Arizona, 4.8%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

Oregon, 5.7%
Vermont, 5.8%
Kansas, 6.0%
Alaska, 8.0%
Georgia, 8.4%
New Mexico, 9.4%

Notes

^ Mofford took office after her predecessor (Evan Mecham) was removed from office.
^ O'Neill took office after his predecessor (Ella Grasso) resigned. He was subsequently elected in the 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election.
^ Miller took office after his predecessor (Richard Bryan) resigned.

References

^ "Guam Governor Race - Nov 06, 1990". Our Campaigns. July 3, 2015.
^ "USVI Governor Race - Nov 06, 1990". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

[1] Mofford took office after her predecessor (Evan Mecham) was removed from office.

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

[3] Miller took office after his predecessor (Richard Bryan) resigned.

[4] "Guam Governor Race - Nov 06, 1990". Our Campaigns. July 3, 2015.

[5] "USVI Governor Race - Nov 06, 1990". Our Campaigns. January 19, 2006.

[a]

[b]

[c]

[1]

[2]

(1988 ←) 1990 United States elections (→ 1992)
U.S. Senate	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Colorado Delaware District of Columbia (shadow) Georgia Hawaii (Special) Idaho Illinois Indiana (Special) Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
U.S. House	Alabama Alaska Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia delegate shadow Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
State governors	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Lt. Gov Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Vermont Wisconsin Wyoming
Attorneys General	California Michigan New York
State legislatures	Arizona Arizona House Arizona Senate California Senate Iowa Senate Maryland House Senate Minnesota House Senate
Mayors	Anchorage, AK Irvine, CA New Orleans, LA San Jose, CA Washington, DC
States generally	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

United States gubernatorial elections
List of current governors
1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
House elections Senate elections Presidential elections