| Election Name: | 2009 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | legislative |
| Seats For Election: | 3 governorships 2 states; 1 territory |
| Election Date: | November 3 and 7, 2009 |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2008 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 2008 |
| Next Election: | 2010 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 2010 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 28 |
| Seats After1: | 26 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,906,681 |
| Percentage1: | 43.25% |
| 1Data1: | 2 |
| 2Data1: | 0 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 22 |
| Seats After2: | 24 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 2,338,096 |
| Percentage2: | 53.03% |
| 1Data2: | 0 |
| 2Data2: | 2 |
| Map Size: | 320px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 3, 2009, in the states of New Jersey and Virginia, as well as in the U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on November 7, 2009. Both state governorships were previously held by Democrats elected in 2005, and both were won by Republicans in 2009; the local Covenant Party maintained control of the governorship of the Marianas. These elections formed part of the 2009 United States elections. As of, this is the last election after which the Democratic party held a majority of governorships.
Due to the passage of Senate Legislative Initiative 16–11, this was the last year in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in which a gubernatorial election occurred on a pre-midterm, off-year election year, as the next gubernatorial election would be in 2014.[1] [2]
The Democrats held 28 governorships, while the Republicans held 22. In this election, both U.S. governorships up for election were held by Democrats, while the governorship of the Northern Mariana Islands was held by the Covenant Party.This is also the last election in which the democrats held a majority of governorships nationwide.
Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each state, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors use:
| New Jersey | data-sort-value="-4" | D+4 | Jon Corzine | data-sort-value="53.5" | 53.5% D | data-sort-value="48.5" | Christie 48.5% R | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | data-sort-value="-2" | R+2 | data-sort-value="51.7" | 51.7% D | data-sort-value="-58.6" | McDonnell 58.6% R |
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | Democratic | 2005 | Incumbent lost re-election. New member elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
| ||||
| Virginia | Tim Kaine | Democratic | 2005 | Incumbent term-limited. New member elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
|
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
| Election Name: | 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election |
| Country: | New Jersey |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2005 |
| Election Date: | November 3, 2009 |
| Next Election: | 2013 New Jersey gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
| Image1: | File:Chris Christie 2011 Shankbone.JPG |
| Nominee1: | Chris Christie |
| Party1: | Republican Party (US) |
| Running Mate1: | Kim Guadagno |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,174,445 |
| Percentage1: | 48.5% |
| Nominee2: | Jon Corzine |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Running Mate2: | Loretta Weinberg |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,087,731 |
| Percentage2: | 44.9% |
| Image3: | File:3x4.svg |
| Nominee3: | Chris Daggett |
| Party3: | Independent (US) |
| Running Mate3: | Frank J. Esposito |
| Popular Vote3: | 139,579 |
| Percentage3: | 5.8% |
| Map Size: | 280px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Jon Corzine |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (US) |
| After Election: | Chris Christie |
| After Party: | Republican Party (US) |
See main article: 2009 New Jersey gubernatorial election.
Democratic Governor Jon Corzine was eligible to run for a second term and did so. He was considered vulnerable given a number of recent scandals and low approval ratings.[4] Former Glen Ridge Mayor Carl Bergmanson, failed 2008 congressional candidate Roger Bacon, and failed 2008 Senate candidate Jeff Boss also sought the Democratic nomination. Corzine won the Democratic primary on June 2.
U.S. Attorney Chris Christie was the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Christie defeated former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan and veteran General Assemblyman Rick Merkt in the Republican primary on June 2.
Chris Daggett, who was Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection under Governor Thomas Kean and regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald W. Reagan, ran as an independent. Daggett raised enough money to file for public funds and appear in both debates.
On November 3, 2009, Republican Christie unseated Democratic incumbent Governor Corzine. His margin of victory was 49% to 45%. Daggett's role as a "spoiler candidate" (some polls had him taking 10 percent of the vote) never materialized.
| Election Name: | 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Virginia |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2005 Virginia gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2005 |
| Election Date: | November 3, 2009 |
| Next Election: | 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2013 |
| Image1: | File:Bob McDonnell (4379673749) (cropped) (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Bob McDonnell |
| Party1: | Republican Party (US) |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,163,651 |
| Percentage1: | 58.6% |
| Nominee2: | Creigh Deeds |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 818,950 |
| Percentage2: | 41.2% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Tim Kaine |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (US) |
| After Election: | Bob McDonnell |
| After Party: | Republican Party (US) |
See main article: 2009 Virginia gubernatorial election.
Virginia's term limits law allows governors to run for more than one term; however, the terms cannot be consecutive. Thus, incumbent Governor Tim Kaine could not stand for re-election.
Candidates for the Democratic nomination included Terry McAuliffe, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's former campaign manager; State Senator Creigh Deeds;[5] and State Delegate Brian Moran.[6] Deeds won the Democratic primary on June 9, 2009, with approximately 49% of the vote, beating out Terry McAliffe with 26% and Brian Moran with 23%.[7]
The Republican nominee was Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell. This was the sixth consecutive Virginian gubernatorial election where an elected Attorney General has run.[8]
On November 3, 2009, Bob McDonnell defeated Creigh Deeds to become Governor-elect of Virginia. His margin of victory was a landslide 59% to 41%.[9]
| Election Name: | 2009 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Northern Mariana Islands |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2005 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2005 |
| Election Date: | November 7, 2009 (general) November 23, 2009 (runoff) |
| Next Election: | 2014 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
| 1Blank: | First round |
| 2Blank: | Runoff |
| Image1: | File:Benigno Fitial 2009.jpg |
| Nominee1: | Benigno Fitial |
| Party1: | Covenant Party (Northern Mariana Islands) |
| 1Data1: | 4,892 36.2% |
| 2Data1: | 6,610 51.4% |
| Nominee2: | Heinz Hofschneider |
| Party2: | Republican Party (US) |
| 1Data2: | 4,900 36.3% |
| 2Data2: | 6,240 48.6% |
| Candidate4: | Juan Pan Guerrero |
| Party4: | Independent (US) |
| 1Data4: | 2,613 19.3% |
| 2Data4: | Eliminated |
| Candidate5: | Ramon Deleon Guerrero |
| Party5: | Independent (US) |
| 1Data5: | 1,075 8.0% |
| 2Data5: | Eliminated |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Benigno Fitial |
| Before Party: | Covenant Party (Northern Mariana Islands) |
| After Election: | Benigno Fitial |
| After Party: | Covenant Party (Northern Mariana Islands) |
| Map Size: | 200px |
Governor Benigno R. Fitial, a member of the local Covenant Party, was eligible to run for a second term and did so. Rep. Heinz Hofschneider won the Republican nomination in June, defeating former Republican Governor Juan N. Babauta, who was defeated in his 2005 re-election by Fitial. Ramon "Kumoi" Guerrero and Juan "Pan" Guerrero, two former members of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate, both ran as independents.
The CNMI election was held on Saturday, November 7, 2009.[10] No candidate received a majority, so Governor Fital and Rep. Hofschneider advanced to a runoff election on November 23. Fital won with a 370-vote margin.[11]