| Election Name: | 2015 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | legislative |
| Seats For Election: | 3 governorships |
| Election Date: | November 3, 2015 November 21 (Louisiana runoff) |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2014 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 2014 |
| Next Election: | 2016 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 2016 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 31 |
| Seats After1: | 31 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,494,011 |
| Percentage1: | 52.52% |
| 1Data1: | 2 |
| 2Data1: | 2 |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 18 |
| Seats After2: | 18 |
| Popular Vote2: | 1,305,187 |
| Percentage2: | 45.88% |
| 1Data2: | 1 |
| 2Data2: | 1 |
| Map Size: | 320px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held in three states in 2015 as part of the 2015 United States elections. In Kentucky and Mississippi, the elections were held on November 3, and in Louisiana, as no candidate received a majority of votes at the primary election on October 24, 2015, a runoff election was held on November 21. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2011. Democrats picked up the open seat of term-limited Republican Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, while Republicans re-elected incumbent Phil Bryant in Mississippi and picked up the seat of term-limited Democrat Steve Beshear in Kentucky.
As of, this is the last time that Republicans won the governorship in Kentucky.
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:
| Kentucky | data-sort-value="13" | R+13 | data-sort-value="-55.7" | 55.7% D | data-sort-value="52.5" | Bevin 52.5% R | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | data-sort-value="12" | R+12 | data-sort-value="65.8" | 65.8% R | data-sort-value="-56.1" | Edwards 56.1% D | |||||||
| Mississippi | data-sort-value="9" | R+9 | data-sort-value="61.0" | 61.0% R | data-sort-value="66.2" | Bryant 66.2% R |
| State | Incumbent | Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Governor | Party | First elected | Status | Candidates | ||
| Kentucky | 2007 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
| |||
| Louisiana | 2007 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
| |||
| Mississippi | 2011 | Incumbent re-elected.[5] | nowrap |
| |||
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
| Election Name: | 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Kentucky |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2011 Kentucky gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2011 |
| Next Election: | 2019 Kentucky gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2019 |
| Image1: | Matt Bevin by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Matt Bevin |
| Party1: | Republican Party (US) |
| Running Mate1: | Jenean Hampton |
| Popular Vote1: | 511,374 |
| Percentage1: | 52.5% |
| Nominee2: | Jack Conway |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Running Mate2: | Sannie Overly |
| Popular Vote2: | 426,620 |
| Percentage2: | 43.8% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Steve Beshear |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (US) |
| After Election: | Matt Bevin |
| After Party: | Republican Party (US) |
See main article: 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial election. Two-term incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Beshear, was unable to run for a third term in 2015 due to term limits established under the Kentucky Constitution. To succeed Beshear, Democrats nominated Attorney General of Kentucky Jack Conway. Conway's running mate was State Representative Sannie Overly.[6] For the Republicans, businessman and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 Matt Bevin ran on a ticket with Tea Party activist and 2014 State House candidate Jenean Hampton.[7] Bevin narrowly defeated Agriculture Commissioner James Comer to win the Republican nomination. Drew Curtis, the founder of Fark, ran as an independent, polling well enough to appear in the Bluegrass Poll gubernatorial debate.[8] Bevin ultimately defeated Conway, winning 53% of the vote to Conway's 44%.
| Election Name: | 2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Louisiana |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2011 Louisiana gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2011 |
| Next Election: | 2019 Louisiana gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2019 |
| Image1: | John Bel Edwards (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | John Bel Edwards |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote1: | 646,924 |
| Percentage1: | 56.1% |
| Nominee2: | David Vitter |
| Party2: | Republican Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 505,940 |
| Percentage2: | 43.9% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Bobby Jindal |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (US) |
| After Election: | John Bel Edwards |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (US) |
See main article: 2015 Louisiana gubernatorial election.
See also: 2015 Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election. Two-term incumbent Republican Governor Bobby Jindal was term-limited in 2015 and thus unable to seek reelection. Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates, regardless of party, appear on the same ballot. The primary was held on October 24, 2015, with Democrat John Bel Edwards at 40% of the vote and Republican David Vitter at 23%. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, a runoff election between Edwards and Vitter was held on November 21, 2015.[9] Edwards won the runoff election with 56.1% of the vote, becoming the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Louisiana since 2008.
Three Republicans ran for the office: Public Service Commissioner and former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana Scott Angelle,[10] incumbent Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne[11] and U.S. Senator David Vitter.[12] Potential Republican candidates included former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and former U.S. Representative Rodney Alexander,[13] Louisiana State Treasurer John Neely Kennedy,[14] State Senator Gerald Long[15] and former governor, former U.S. Representative and candidate for president in 2012 Buddy Roemer.[16]
Three Democrats ran: 2011 candidate Cary Deaton,[17] Minority Leader of the Louisiana House of Representatives John Bel Edwards[18] [19] and minister Jeremy Odom.[20]
| Election Name: | 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Country: | Mississippi |
| Flag Year: | 2001 |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2011 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Previous Year: | 2011 |
| Next Election: | 2019 Mississippi gubernatorial election |
| Next Year: | 2019 |
| Image1: | Secretary Perry with Govt Phil Bryant KSS2455 (32743097363) (cropped 2).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Phil Bryant |
| Party1: | Republican Party (US) |
| Popular Vote1: | 480,399 |
| Percentage1: | 66.2% |
| Nominee2: | Robert Gray |
| Party2: | Democratic Party (US) |
| Popular Vote2: | 234,858 |
| Percentage2: | 32.4% |
| Map Size: | 125px |
| Governor | |
| Before Election: | Phil Bryant |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (US) |
| After Election: | Phil Bryant |
| After Party: | Republican Party (US) |
See main article: 2015 Mississippi gubernatorial election. One-term incumbent Republican Governor Phil Bryant nominated for a second and final term.[5] [21] He had won a resounding victory over his Democratic opponent four years earlier, carrying 61% of the vote. Truck driver Robert Gray was nominated by the Democrats to oppose Bryant in the general election.[21] Bryant won the election in a landslide, winning 67% of the vote to Gray's 32%.