United States gubernatorial election 2014

Final result of the 2014 US gubernatorial election:

Democrats gain

Democrat confirmed

Republicans gain

Republicans confirmed

Gaining an independent

no gubernatorial election in 2014

Map of states and territories in the run-up to the election: Republican governor is running Republican governor is not running again, is legally banned from re-election due to term limit , or was defeated in the primary elections Democratic governor is running Democratic governor is not running again, is legally eligible Reelected or was defeated in the primary no gubernatorial election in 2014






The United States gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014 in 36 of the 50 states . The respective governors were elected , who are the highest officials in charge of government affairs in their respective states. With the exception of New Hampshire and Vermont (2 years), all governors were elected for a four-year term. At the same time across the country were congressional elections ( midterm elections ) , elections to parliaments of states held referendums and some local elections.

In states where governor and lieutenant governor are not elected together on one ticket , elections for this office and elections for other executive offices took place at the same time (if these offices are not occupied by the governor himself).

The party primaries to determine the respective candidates took place between March and September 2014 according to different procedures, depending on the state. The various dates and elective modules must be justified with the various electoral rights of the states. Each state has its own right to vote, but not all states actually have different legal positions. In the main election on November 4, 2014, with the exception of Georgia (run-off on December 2, if no candidate received more than 50% of the votes in the main election), the candidate with the most votes won the election. In almost all states, the new term of office begins in January 2015 and ends accordingly in January 2019. As a result, the next elections will take place in these states in November 2018.

Although smaller parties, such as the Libertarian Party , also send candidates into the running in some states and there are non-party candidates , as expected, only the candidates from the two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans , were elected. Previously, only these two parties provided governors. The only exception is the state of Alaska, where Bill Walker, a non-party member, was elected governor after the Democrat Byron Mallott withdrew his application in favor of the ex-Republican and is now serving as his lieutenant governor. Another exception is the US Virgin Islands and the states where an independent candidate was elected after the Democrats dropped their own candidate.

Contrary to what was expected in Congress, political observers saw the Democrats at an advantage in the run-up to the gubernatorial elections. As recognized political scientists and journalists in the US media that, according to surveys in 2014 comparatively large number of incumbents of both parties were particularly numerous threatened, however, when the Republicans of deselection. In this context, Republican Governors Tom Corbett ( Pennsylvania ), Sam Brownback ( Kansas ), Nathan Deal ( Georgia ), Paul LePage ( Maine ), Sean Parnell ( Alaska ), Rick Scott ( Florida ) and Scott Walker ( Wisconsin ) called. Among the Democrats, however, political analysts saw only Pat Quinn ( Illinois ), Dan Malloy ( Connecticut ) and John Hickenlooper ( Colorado ) at serious risk of losing re-election. On election day, however, it turned out that on the Republican side only incumbents Tom Corbett from Pennsylvania and Sean Parnell from Alaska missed their re-election. With the Democrats only Pat Quinn, the governor of Illinois, lost to his challenger Bruce Rauner . Since it is a non-party candidate in Alaska, the Democrats could only gain a state with the election of Tom Wolf in Pennsylvania. In addition to their success in Illinois over the incumbent, the Republicans were also able to win the states of Arkansas , Maryland and Massachusetts , where the incumbent governor of the Democrats was either legally excluded from running or did not run again.

In addition to gubernatorial elections in the 36 states, there were also three gubernatorial elections in the American outskirts of Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Virgin Islands.

Gubernatorial elections by state

Alabama

In Alabama, incumbent Republican Governor Robert Bentley ran for a second term. Former Congressman Parker Griffith , who had meanwhile switched to Republicans, prevailed against businessman Kevin Bass in the Democratic elections in June . Incumbent Bentley was considered the favorite and clearly prevailed with 63%.

Alaska

Governor Sean Parnell , who rose to head Alaska in July 2009 and was reelected as the 2010 Republican candidate, ran for re-election. Byron Mallott won the democratic primaries on August 19, 2014 . However, Mallott announced on September 1 that he would step down as a Democratic candidate and instead support the candidacy of the independent Bill Walker . In this independent "Unity Ticket" Mallot is now a candidate for the office of lieutenant governor . The choice was considered open. Parnell narrowly lost his re-election in the end.

Arizona

The incumbent Republican Governor Jan Brewer of the state of Arizona is constitutionally barred from further application. In the primaries on August 26, 2014, it was decided who would run for her successor. State Treasurer Doug Ducey prevailed among the Republicans, while the Democrats nominated entrepreneur and civil rights activist Fred DuVal . Ducey was able to lead a majority of the polls, but DuVal was also given a chance of an election victory. In the end, Ducey won surprisingly clearly with 53.8% of the vote.

Arkansas

Mike Beebe , Arkansas Governor since 2007, has been excluded from running again. Former Congressman Mike Ross from the Democrats and Republicans Asa Hutchinson , who also belonged to the US House of Representatives and was his party's candidate for governorship in Arkansas in 2006, are trying to succeed the Democrats . The primaries were held on April 20, 2014. Hutchinson clearly won the election with 55% of the vote.

Colorado

Democrat Governor John Hickenlooper is running for a second term in Colorado . In the internal party primaries on June 24, 2014, he prevailed without any opposing candidates. Former Congressman Bob Beauprez was barely able to get the most votes among the Republican candidates. Beauprez narrowly prevailed against former Congressman Tom Tancredo and Secretary of State of Colorado Scott Gessler . He was his party's candidate for governor of Colorado in 2006. The outcome of the election was seen as largely open. Hickenlooper was re-elected with almost 49% of the vote.

Connecticut

In Connecticut there will be a new edition of the 2010 election. Acting Democratic Governor Dan Malloy will meet former US Ambassador to Ireland, Thomas C. Foley , when he runs for a second term . In the primary election on August 12, 2014, Foley again prevailed among the Republicans. Malloy won his re-election on election day with 50.7% of the vote.

Florida

On August 26, 2014, the internal party primaries took place in Florida . As expected, incumbent Governor Rick Scott , who is aiming for a second term, won the Republicans . There had been no significant opposition to him. Charlie Crist emerged victorious from the Democratic primary . He beat former State Senator Nan Rich with almost 75 percent of the vote. Crist was already governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011, but decided not to be re-elected in 2010 because he was a candidate for the US Senate (in vain). During his first term in office, he was still a Republican, but resigned in 2010 in protest against the Tea Party movement . He has been a member of the Democrats since 2012. A head-to-head race between Scott and Crist was expected. In the end, however, the incumbent won with 48.2% against 47.1%.

Georgia

Republican Nathan Deal , Georgia governor since 2011 , ran for a second term. He was challenged by the Democratic State Senator Jason Carter , who prevailed in the May 20, 2014 primaries. Jason Carter is the grandson of former US President Jimmy Carter , who himself was governor of the state from 1971 to 1975. The race was considered open because both applicants were roughly equal in the polls. On election day, however, Deal won with a surprisingly clear 52.8% of the vote, with only 44% in favor of Carter.

Hawaii

On July 20th, party primaries took place in Hawaii . The Democratic incumbent Neil Abercrombie lost these elections in a clear decision and was therefore not eligible for a second term. State Senator David Ige was able to prevail with 67% of the vote. For the Republicans ran for the former Lieutenant Governor James Aiona , who was nominated by his party in 2010. Although Hawaii is seen as a majority leaning towards the Democrats, Aiona led the polls narrowly at times. This was mainly due to the non-party candidacy of the ex-mayor of Honolulu Mufi Hannemann . Ige won with 49.5%, while Aiona only received 37.1% of the vote. Hanneman still had 11%.

Idaho

With no term limits in Idaho , Governor Butch Otter ran for a third term. The businessman AJ Balukoff is running for the opposition Democrats. The primaries took place on May 20, 2014. As expected, Otter was confirmed in office after 54% of voters voted for him.

Illinois

In Illinois , Governor Pat Quinn ran for another term. After the impeachment of his predecessor Rod Blagojevich in January 2009, he was promoted to governor. In November 2010 he was confirmed in office with a narrow majority. While Quinn passed the Democratic primary on March 18 without any problems, businessman Bruce Rauner narrowly prevailed among the Republicans . Illinois is considered to be a predominantly Democratic state, but the race was seen as open. The trend in the polls, which saw a clear advantage for Rauner in the spring and summer, was increasingly reversed in the fall in favor of incumbent Quinn. Nevertheless, Rauner won in the end with 50.3% of the vote, while only 46.3% were in favor of Quinn.

Iowa

Governor Terry Branstad was nominated again on June 3, 2014 by the Republicans in Iowa , while Senator Jack Hatch is running for the Democrats . Branstad was Governor of Iowa from 1983 to 1999. Branstand was considered the favorite from the start and clearly won with around 59% of the votes.

California

On June 3, 2014, California held primaries for the first time under the Nonpartisan Open Blanket System. All applicants stand for election, whereby in the main election on November 4th the two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, automatically compete against each other with the most votes in the area code. As expected, the Democratic incumbent Jerry Brown prevailed clearly in the primaries , while Republican Neel Kashkari surprisingly came second in front of State Representative Tim Donnelly, who is close to the Tea Party movement . Governor Brown clearly won the election with just under 60% of the vote.

Kansas

Sam Brownback , governor of Kansas since 2011 as a member of the Republicans running for a second term. The Democratic leader in the Kansas House of Representatives , Paul Davis , was nominated by his party as opposition candidate. Primary elections took place on August 5, 2014. The race was seen as open, although Kansas mostly leans towards the Republicans in a majority. In the end, Brownback prevailed with almost 50% of the vote. Davis accounted for around 46%.

Maine

Republican incumbent Paul LePage is running for a second term in Maine . He was able to prevail in the primaries on June 10th without opposition. Congressman Mike Michaud is running for the Democrats . The outcome of the election was considered open. In the end, LePage won by around 5%. He received around 48% of the vote, while Michaud received 43%.

Maryland

In Maryland , Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown ran for the Democratic side , while Lawrence J. Hogan was nominated for the Republicans . The incumbent, Democrat, Governor Martin O'Malley was not allowed to run again after two terms. Surprisingly, Hogan prevailed with 53.8% of the vote.

Massachusetts

The state of Massachusetts held its internal party primaries on September 9th. The Democrats nominated Attorney General Martha Coakley as the candidate, while the Republicans re-nominated their 2010 candidate Charlie Baker . Although the state constitution does not provide for a limit on the terms of office of his head of government, the Democratic governor Deval Patrick has announced that he does not want to run for a third term. In the end, Baker won 48.5% to 46.6%.

Michigan

The Republican and incumbent Governor Rick Snyder tried for a second term in Michigan and won the primaries on August 5th without any problems. Former MP in the US House of Representatives, Mark Schauer , was nominated as an opposing candidate by the Democrats, but lost to the incumbent. He won 51% of the vote, his challenger 46%.

Minnesota

Majorities by counties in Minnesota

Former MP Jeff Johnson was nominated by the Republican Party to challenge Mark Dayton on August 12, 2014 . Meanwhile, Governor Dayton easily prevailed as the Democratic candidate. He went as a favorite for a second term in the Minnesota election in November. With 50 against 44.5%, Governor Dayton won comfortably.

Nebraska

Nebraska does not allow its governor a third term, so Republican incumbent Dave Heineman is excluded from voting. Entrepreneur Pete Ricketts (Republican) and civil servant Chuck Hassebrook (Democrats) are running for his successor, and they each prevailed in the May 13 primaries. In the end, Ricketts won by a clear margin.

Nevada

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval ran for a second term. He won the Republican primary on June 10, 2014 by a clear margin. Its challenger is the Democrat Bob Goodman. The incumbent won this election with a 70% share of the vote.

New Hampshire

Democratic governor Maggie Hassan ran for another two-year term in New Hampshire . Primary elections took place on September 9, 2014. The governor's Republican challenger is entrepreneur Walt Havenstein . The incumbent was considered the favorite and was able to triumph in the end with 52.6% of the vote.

New Mexico

Governor Susana Martinez was re-established by the Republicans in New Mexico . The Democrats are entering the race with Gary King , the state's Attorney General , after winning the June 3 primary. The governor was re-elected with around 58% of the vote.

new York

Primary elections were held in New York on September 9th . With the Democrats incumbent Andrew Cuomo ran for a second term. Within the party, he was challenged by the university professor Zephyr Teachout , who, however, was at best given outsider opportunities. Cuomo prevailed in the area code with a clear majority. Local politician Rob Astorino was nominated for the Republicans . A victory Cuomos was already expected in advance, as he was able to lead all the polls clearly. Astorino did better than expected with 40% of the vote, Cuomo received 54%.

Ohio

Among the Republicans, Governor John Kasich emerged as the winner of the Ohio primary on May 6th. However, there was no party challenger. Local politician Ed FitzGerald has meanwhile been nominated as a candidate by the Democrats. Governor Kasich was already able to lead the polls and won with 64% of the vote on election day without any problems.

Oklahoma

Governor Mary Fallin was nominated for a second term in Oklahoma by the Republican Party. In the primaries on June 24, she was able to prevail with 75 percent of the vote, while the Democratic MP Joe Dorman emerged as the winner. Election day brought an expected victory for the incumbent. You could win almost 56% of the votes.

Oregon

The entrepreneur Dennis Richardson won the Republican primary on May 20, 2014, while Governor John Kitzhaber was successful in the Democratic Party . Incumbent Kitzhaber was considered the favorite to vote in November. He was already 1995-2003 State of Oregon and returned in 2011 as such back. Now he was elected for another term of office with 49.5% against 45.1%.

Pennsylvania

Governor Tom Corbett was seeking a second term as head of government. The Republicans put him back on May 20 after winning the primary election without opposing candidates. Tom Wolf , former Secretary of State Revenue for Pennsylvania , emerged victorious in the Democratic primary. Since Governor Corbett's approval ratings have recently fallen sharply, he had to admit defeat as expected on election day. Wolf won 54.8% of the vote, while the incumbent received only 45.2%.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island held its internal party primaries on September 9th. Governor Lincoln Chafee , who narrowly prevailed as a non-party candidate in 2010 but is now a Democrat, announced that he would no longer run after one term. The Democrats nominated Treasury Secretary Gina Raimondo as a candidate, while her Republican rival candidate is Allan Fung , Mayor of Cranston . Raimondo was able to prevail on election day with a lead of four percent.

South carolina

After the June 10 primary, a duel between Republican incumbent Nikki Haley and Democratic State Senator Vincent Sheheen ensues in South Carolina . It was a new edition of the 2010 election. This time too, Haley won the election. She received 56% of the vote, and 41% of voters voted for Sheheen.

South Dakota

Republican and incumbent Governor of South Dakota Dennis Daugaard is running for a second term. The incumbent is challenged by the Democratic MP Susan Wismer . The primaries were held on June 3rd. Daugaard won very clearly with 71% of the vote.

Tennessee

Governor Bill Haslam won the Tennessee Republican primary on August 7 with 87% of the vote. The Democrats nominated Charlie Brown , a 72-year-old US citizen who did not campaign at all, but who did not run in the 2002 primaries. Haslam clearly won with 70% of the vote.

Texas

The Texas Governor Rick Perry , who has been in office since 2000, announced his retirement in the summer of 2013 after his term of office expired. For the Republicans, Attorney General Greg Abbott runs , who prevailed in the primary election on March 4 with 91 percent of the vote. On the same day, the Democrats nominated State Senator Wendy Davis , who rose to national prominence after filibustering an abortion law . Still, Abbott were given higher chances of victory, as Texas leaned toward the Republicans majority. On election day Abbott won, as expected, with 59% of the vote very clearly. Wendy Davis got just under 39%.

Vermont

Democratic governor Peter Shumlin ran for a third two-year term in Vermont . Primary elections took place on September 9, 2014. The governor was able to assert himself without any problems. With the Republicans the businessman Scott Milne was successful. With 46.6 versus 45.2%, Shumlin narrowly won.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin held its primary on August 12, 2014. Governor Scott Walker was appointed by the Republicans for a second term. The Democrats are entering the race with former state Secretary of Commerce, Mary Burke . The outcome of the election was considered open. In the summer of 2012, a recall for Walker's early dismissal had failed. Surprisingly, Walker was able to beat his challenger with 52.3% of the vote.

Wyoming

Internal party primaries were held in Wyoming on August 19, 2014. Acting Governor Matt Mead (Republican) has been nominated for a second term by his party. For the Democrats, the former chairman of the party organization in Wyoming, Pete Gosar , was appointed. As early as 2010, he applied unsuccessfully for his party's candidacy. Governor Mead won the election with 62.5% of the vote and was thus confirmed for another four years.

Gubernatorial elections by area

American Virgin Islands

On the American Virgin Islands , from the point of view of the Democratic Party, the delegate Donna Christian-Christensen, who represents the island group in the House of Representatives, should replace her party friend John de Jongh, who is no longer eligible for election for constitutional reasons, as governor. The MP was able to unite more than a third of the votes in the primary elections. Christian-Christensen competed against independent candidates Sheila Alvin Scallion, State Sergeant Major Mona L. Barnes, former federal judge Soraya Diase Coffelt and former Lieutenant Governor Kenneth E. Mapp. The latter was able to prevail with the voters with 49.35% of the vote.

Guam

Guam's citizens could choose between Democrat and former Senator and Governor of the Island Carl TC Gutierrez and Republican and incumbent Governor Eddie Baza Calvo . They decided with 63.69% of the votes cast for another term of office for Calvo.

Northern Mariana Islands

On the Northern Marianas , the current governor Eloy Sangoao Inos ran for the Republicans , Edward M. Deleon Guerrero for the Democrats and Heinz Sablan Hofschneider and Juan Nekkei Bbabauta as independents. The North Marian voters gave 45.96% their confidence in their governor Sangoao for another term of office.

See also

• Election to the United States Senate 2014
• Election to the United States House of Representatives 2014

Web links

• Election Results Election results for the New York Times
• Gubernatorial 2014 at Ballotpedia (English)
• National Governors Association : 2014 gubernatorial elections (English)
• 2014 races governor at Politico (English)
• Surveys of gubernatorial elections in 2014 at RealClearPolitics (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Washington Post: The top 12 governor's races of 2014
2. ↑ C-SPAN : Vulnerable Incumbent Governors (Video)
3. ^ New York Times: Governor Election results
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj} 2014 gubernatorial elections at Ballotpedia (engl.)
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj} 2014 governor races at Politico (engl.)
6. ↑ Walker, Mallott to join forces in governor's race (Engl.)
7. ↑ USVI Primary Unofficial Results. (No longer available online.) In: vivote.gov. August 2, 2014, archived from the original on September 11, 2014 ; accessed on November 6, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ USVI General Election Unofficial Results. (No longer available online.) In: vivote.gov. November 4, 2014, archived from the original on November 6, 2014 ; accessed on November 6, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Unofficial Results of the 2014 General Election. (No longer available online.) In: gec.guam.gov. November 5, 2014, archived from the original on November 6, 2014 ; accessed on November 6, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ 2014 General Election Results - Unofficial Results. (No longer available online.) In: votecnmi.gov.mp. November 2014, archived from the original on November 30, 2014 ; accessed on November 6, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.