Governorship Results

Updated June 18, 2019 | Infoplease Staff

8 Democrats, 3 Republicans elected

This article was posted in September 2002.

This year 11 states held elections for governor on Nov. 7. These states and the candidates are listed below. (Winners are in bold.)

Even in the final weeks before the elections, most of the governors' races were too close to call, but in the end, the incumbents largely were able to hold onto their seats. Only in West Virginia was there an upset, with Republican governor Cecil Underwood losing his reelection contest to Democrat Bob Wise (Wise garnered 51 % of the vote and Underwood 47%).

Come January, as a result of the elections, Republican governors will still outnumber Democratic governors 29 to 19 (two states, Minnesota and Maine, have independent governors). As only two states, New Jersey and Virginia, will have races for governor in 2001, the next opportunity for the balance of power in the nation's statehouses to shift will come in 2002, when 36 governorships will be up for grabs.

Winners are in bold:

Delaware

• John Burris (R)
• Ruth Ann Minner (D)
  Departing incumbent: Thomas Carper (D)

Indiana

• David M. McIntosh (R)
• Frank O'Bannon (D), incumbent
• Andrew Horning (I)

Missouri

• Jim Talent (R)
• Bob Holden (D)
• Richard A. Kline (RP)
• Richard Smith (C)
• John M. Swenson (L)
  Departing incumbent: Roger Wilson (D) (Lt. Governor serving out recently deceased Gov. Mel Carnahan's term)

Montana

• Judy Martz (R)
• Mark O'Keefe(D)
• Stan Jones (L)
  Departing incumbent: Marc Racicot (R)

New Hampshire

• Gordon Humphrey (R)
• Jeanne Shaheen (D), incumbent

North Carolina

• Richard Vinroot (R)
• Mike Easley (D)
  Departing incumbent: James B. Hunt, Jr. (D)

North Dakota

• John Hoeven (R)
• Heidi Heitkamp (D)
  Departing incumbent: Edward T. Schafer (R)

Utah

• Michael Leavitt (R), incumbent
• Bill Orton (D)
• Jeremy Friedbaum (IA)

Vermont

• Ruth Dwyer (R)
• Howard Dean (D), incumbent

Washington

• John Carlson (R)
• Gary Locke (D), incumbent
• Steve W. LePage (L)

West Virginia

• Cecil H. Underwood (R), incumbent
• Bob Wise (D)
• Bob Meyers (L)
• Denise Giardina (MP)
• Randall Ashelman (NLP)