1996 United States gubernatorial elections explained

Election Name:	1996 United States gubernatorial elections
Country:	United States
Type:	legislative
Ongoing:	No
Previous Election:	1995 United States gubernatorial elections
Previous Year:	1995
Next Election:	1997 United States gubernatorial elections
Next Year:	1997
Seats For Election:	13 governorships 11 states; 2 territories
Election Date:	November 5, 1996
1Blank:	Seats up
2Blank:	Seats won
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Seats Before1:	32
Seats After1:	32
1Data1:	4
2Data1:	4
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Seats Before2:	17
Seats After2:	17
1Data2:	7
2Data2:	7
Map Size:	324px

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.

Election results

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Delaware	Tom Carper		Democratic	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Tom Carper (Democratic) 69.5% Janet Rzewnicki (Republican) 30.5%
Indiana	Evan Bayh		Democratic	1988		Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	nowrap	Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) 51.5% Stephen Goldsmith (Republican) 46.8% Steve Dillon (Libertarian) 1.7%
Missouri	Mel Carnahan		Democratic	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Mel Carnahan (Democratic) 57.2% Margaret B. Kelly (Republican) 40.4% J. Mark Oglesby (Libertarian) 2.4%
Montana	Marc Racicot		Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Marc Racicot (Republican) 79.2% Judy Jacobson (Democratic) 20.8%
New Hampshire	Steve Merrill		Republican	1992		Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	nowrap	Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) 57.2% Ovide Lamontagne (Republican) 39.5%
North Carolina	Jim Hunt		Democratic	1976 1984 1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Jim Hunt (Democratic) 56.0% Robin Hayes (Republican) 42.8%
North Dakota	Ed Schafer		Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Ed Schafer (Republican) 66.2% Lee Kaldor (Democratic) 33.8%
Utah	Mike Leavitt		Republican	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Mike Leavitt (Republican) 75.0% Jim Bradley (Democratic) 23.3%
Vermont	Howard Dean		Democratic	1991	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Howard Dean (Democratic) 70.5% John L. Gropper (Republican) 22.5% Mary Alice Herbert (Liberty Union) 1.6% Dennis Lane (Grassroots) 1.4% Bill Brunelle (Natural Law) 1.3% August St. John (Independent) 1.3% Neil Randall (Libertarian) 1.2%
Washington	Mike Lowry		Democratic	1992		Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	nowrap	Gary Locke (Democratic) 58.0% Ellen Craswell (Republican) 42.0%
West Virginia	Gaston Caperton		Democratic	1988		Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	nowrap	Cecil Underwood (Republican) 51.6% Charlotte Pritt (Democratic) 45.8% Wallace Johnson (Libertarian) 2.6%

Territories

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
American Samoa	A. P. Lutali		Democratic	1992		Incumbent retired. New governor elected.^[1] Democratic hold.	nowrap	Tauese Sunia (Democratic) 51.0% L. Peter Reid (Independent) 49.0%
Puerto Rico	Pedro Rosselló		New Progressive	1992	Incumbent re-elected.	nowrap	Pedro Rosselló (PNP) 51.4% Héctor Luis Acevedo (PPD) 44.7% David Noriega Rodríguez (PIP) 3.8%

Closest races

States 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

• 1996 United States elections
  • 1996 United States presidential election
  • 1996 United States Senate elections
  • 1996 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes and References

1. Web site: AS Governor Race - Dec 05, 1996 . Our Campaigns . July 30, 2008 .