Plurality in Gubernatorial Elections
From 1946-2014, 119 of the 1,024 gubernatorial elections nationwide - 11.6 percent - were won with less than 50 percent of the vote. No general election was won with less than 35 percent of the vote. The following is the list of every general election over that span won with less than a majority of votes cast, with the state, year, elected winner and winning percentage.
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Plurality Winners in Gubernatorial Races 1946-2014 (119 total) |
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Won with 35.0-39.9% (14) |
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State | Year | Winner | Winning % |
Rhode Island | 2010 | Lincoln Chafee | 36.10% |
Maine | 2010 | Paul LePage | 38.20% |
Maine | 2006 | John Baldacci | 38.11% |
Texas | 2006 | Rick Perry | 39.03% |
Minnesota | 1998 | Jesse Ventura | 36.99% |
Maine | 1994 | Angus King | 35.40% |
Connecticut | 1994 | John G. Rowland | 36.20% |
Hawaii | 1994 | Benjamin J. Cayetano | 36.60% |
Alaska | 1990 | Walter J. Hickel | 38.90% |
Arizona | 1986 | Evan Mecham | 39.70% |
Maine | 1986 | John R. McKernan Jr. | 39.90% |
Alaska | 1978 | Jay S. Hammond | 39.10% |
Maine | 1974 | James B. Longley | 39.10% |
Utah | 1956 | George D. Clyde | 38.20% |
Won with 40.0-44.9% (12) |
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State | Year | Winner | Winning % |
Rhode Island | 2014 | Gina Raimondo | 40.70% |
Minnesota | 2010 | Mark Dayton | 43.70% |
Oklahoma | 2002 | Brad Henry | 43.27% |
Minnesota | 2002 | Tim Pawlenty | 44.37% |
Vermont* | 2002 | Jim Douglas | 44.94% |
Alaska | 1994 | Tony Knowles | 41.10% |
Utah | 1992 | Michael O. Leavitt | 42.20% |
Connecticut | 1990 | Lowell P. Weicker Jr. | 40.40% |
Utah | 1988 | Norman H. Bangerter | 40.10% |
New Hampshire | 1972 | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | 41.40% |
Idaho | 1966 | Don Samuelson | 41.40% |
New York | 1966 | Nelson A. Rockefeller | 44.60% |
Won with 45.0-49.9% (93) |
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State | Year | Winner | Winning % |
Vermont | 2014 | Peter Shumlin | 46.36% |
Alaska | 2014 | Bill Walker | 48.10% |
Florida | 2014 | Rick Scott | 48.14% |
Maine | 2014 | Paul LePage | 48.18% |
Massachusetts | 2014 | Charlie Baker | 48.40% |
Colorado | 2014 | John Hickenlooper | 49.29% |
Hawaii | 2014 | David Ige | 49.45% |
Kansas | 2014 | Sam Brownback | 49.82% |
Oregon | 2014 | John Kitzhaber | 49.88% |
Virginia | 2013 | Terry McAuliffe | 47.75% |
Indiana | 2012 | Mike Pence | 49.59% |
Montana | 2012 | Steve Bullock | 49.03% |
West Virginia | 2011 | Earl Ray Tomblin | 49.60% |
Illinois | 2010 | Patrick J. Quinn | 46.80% |
Massachusetts | 2010 | Deval Patrick | 48.50% |
Florida | 2010 | Rick Scott | 48.90% |
Ohio | 2010 | John Kasich | 49.00% |
Oregon | 2010 | John Kitzhaber | 49.40% |
Connecticut | 2010 | Dan Malloy | 49.50% |
Vermont* | 2010 | Peter Shumlin | 49.60% |
New Jersey | 2009 | Chris Christie | 48.46% |
Minnesota | 2006 | Tim Pawlenty | 46.69% |
Nevada | 2006 | Jim Gibbons | 47.93% |
Alaska | 2006 | Sarah Palin | 48.33% |
Illinois | 2006 | Rod Blagojevich | 49.80% |
Washington | 2004 | Christine Gregoire | 48.87% |
California | 2003 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | 48.58% |
Wisconsin | 2002 | Jim Doyle | 45.09% |
Maine | 2002 | John Baldacci | 47.15% |
California | 2002 | Gray Davis | 47.26% |
Arizona | 2002 | Janet Napolitano | 48.74% |
Oregon | 2002 | Ted Kulongoski | 49.03% |
Alabama | 2002 | Bob Riley | 49.17% |
New York | 2002 | George Pataki | 49.40% |
Massachusetts | 2002 | Mitt Romney | 49.77% |
Wyoming | 2002 | Dave Freudenthal | 49.96% |
New Hampshire | 2000 | Jeanne Shaheen | 48.74% |
Missouri | 2000 | Bob Holden | 49.12% |
Mississippi* | 1999 | Ronnie Musgrove | 49.62% |
Colorado | 1998 | Bill Owens | 49.06% |
New Jersey | 1997 | Christine Todd Whitman | 46.90% |
Pennsylvania | 1994 | Tom Ridge | 45.40% |
Oklahoma | 1994 | Frank Keating | 46.90% |
Rhode Island | 1994 | Lincoln C. Almond | 47.40% |
New York | 1994 | George Pataki | 48.80% |
New Mexico | 1994 | Gary E. Johnson | 49.80% |
New Jersey | 1993 | Christine Todd Whitman | 49.30% |
Oregon | 1990 | Barbara Roberts | 45.70% |
Maine | 1990 | John R. McKernan Jr. | 46.70% |
Kansas | 1990 | Joan Finney | 48.60% |
California | 1990 | Pete Wilson | 49.20% |
Texas | 1990 | Ann W. Richards | 49.50% |
Arizona | 1990 | Fife Symington | 49.60% |
Minnesota | 1990 | Arne Carlson | 49.60% |
Michigan | 1990 | John Engler | 49.80% |
Nebraska | 1990 | Ben Nelson | 49.90% |
Alaska | 1986 | Steve C. Cowper | 47.30% |
Oklahoma | 1986 | Henry L. Bellmon | 47.50% |
Idaho | 1986 | Cecil D. Andrus | 49.90% |
Hawaii | 1982 | George Ariyoshi | 45.20% |
Alaska | 1982 | Bill Sheffield | 46.10% |
California | 1982 | George Deukmejian | 49.30% |
Illinois | 1982 | James R. Thompson | 49.40% |
New Jersey | 1981 | Thomas H. Kean | 49.50% |
Maine | 1978 | Joseph E. Brennan | 47.70% |
Ohio | 1978 | James A. Rhodes | 49.30% |
Kansas | 1978 | John Carlin | 49.40% |
New Hampshire | 1978 | Hugh J. Gallen | 49.40% |
Texas | 1978 | William P. Clements | 49.96% |
Alaska | 1974 | Jay S. Hammond | 47.70% |
Ohio | 1974 | James A. Rhodes | 48.60% |
Kansas | 1974 | Robert F. Bennett | 49.50% |
New Mexico | 1974 | Jerry Apodaca | 49.90% |
Texas | 1972 | Dolph Briscoe | 47.90% |
New Hampshire | 1970 | Walter Peterson | 46.00% |
Nevada | 1970 | Mike O'Callaghan | 48.10% |
Oklahoma | 1970 | David Hall | 48.40% |
Georgia** | 1966 | Lester Maddox | 47.40% |
Maryland | 1966 | Spiro T. Agnew | 49.50% |
Alaska | 1966 | Walter J. Hickel | 49.997% |
Virginia | 1965 | Mills E. Godwin Jr. | 47.90% |
Minnesota | 1962 | Karl F. Rolvaag | 49.70% |
Massachusetts | 1962 | Endicott Peabody | 49.90% |
North Dakota | 1960 | William L. Guy | 49.40% |
Wyoming | 1958 | J. J. Hickey | 48.90% |
Connecticut | 1954 | Abraham A. Ribicoff | 49.50% |
New York | 1954 | Averell Harriman | 49.60% |
Massachusetts | 1952 | Christian A. Herter | 49.90% |
Michigan | 1952 | G. Mennen Williams | 49.96% |
Connecticut | 1950 | John D. Lodge | 49.70% |
Michigan | 1950 | G. Mennen Williams | 49.80% |
Connecticut | 1948 | Chester Bowles | 49.30% |
*Denotes an election where the candidate with a plurality was chosen by the state legislature, due to state laws that require a majority win.
**In 1966, Georgia's state legislature, given the power to choose the governor when no candidate won a majority, selected the gubernatorial candidate with the second most votes.
NOTE: Some states have used a blanket primary system for the governor's race, which is designed to ensure a majority win. Unless one candidate takes more than 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates who receive the most votes advance to a runoff. Louisiana has used this system since 1977, though in 1987, gubernatorial candidate Edwin Edwards withdrew after winning the right to a runoff against Buddy Roemer. With only one candidate in the runoff, the state did not hold a second round of voting, and Roemer became governor without winning a majority of the vote.