2017 Virginia gubernatorial election

2017 Virginia gubernatorial election

← 2013 November 7, 2017 2021 →
Turnout47.6% Increase 4.6[1]
 
Nominee Ralph Northam Ed Gillespie
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,409,175 1,175,731
Percentage 53.90% 44.97%

Northam:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%
Gillespie:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      90–100%
Tie:      40–50%      No votes

Governor before election

Terry McAuliffe
Democratic

Elected Governor

Ralph Northam
Democratic

The 2017 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2017. Incumbent Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe was unable to run for re-election, as the Constitution of Virginia prohibits the officeholder from serving consecutive terms; he later ran unsuccessfully for a second term in 2021.

Primary elections took place on June 13, 2017. Virginia utilizes an open primary, in which registered voters are allowed to vote in either party's primary election.[2] Democrats nominated incumbent lieutenant governor Ralph Northam and Republicans nominated former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie. Libertarians nominated Clifford Hyra by convention on May 6, 2017.[3]

In the general election on November 7, 2017, Northam defeated Republican Gillespie, winning by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1985. Northam assumed office as the 73rd Governor of Virginia on January 13, 2018.[4] The election had the highest voter turnout percentage in a Virginia gubernatorial election in twenty years, with over 47% of registered voters casting their ballot.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Registration/Turnout Statistics". Virginia Department of Elections. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017". Ballotpedia.org. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "LP nominates Cliff Hyra for Virginia governor - Libertarian Party". LP.org. May 9, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  4. ^ Bloch, Matthew (November 7, 2017). "Live Election Results and Estimates: Virginia Governor Race". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2017.