2018 United States gubernatorial elections

2018 United States gubernatorial elections

← 2017 November 6, 2018 2019 →

39 governorships
36 states; 3 territories
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Republican Democratic
Seats before 33 16
Seats after 27 23
Seat change Decrease 6 Increase 7
Popular vote 43,452,881[1] 46,253,757
Percentage 48.28% 51.39%
Seats up 27 9
Seats won 20 16

  Third party
 
Party Independent
Seats before 1
Seats after 0
Seat change Decrease 1
Popular vote 299,612
Percentage 0.33%
Seats up 1
Seats won 0

2018 Alabama gubernatorial election2018 Alaska gubernatorial election2018 Arizona gubernatorial election2018 Arkansas gubernatorial election2018 California gubernatorial election2018 Colorado gubernatorial election2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election2018 Florida gubernatorial election2018 Georgia gubernatorial election2018 Hawaii gubernatorial election2018 Idaho gubernatorial election2018 Illinois gubernatorial election2018 Iowa gubernatorial election2018 Kansas gubernatorial election2018 Maine gubernatorial election2018 Maryland gubernatorial election2018 Massachusetts gubernatorial election2018 Michigan gubernatorial election2018 Minnesota gubernatorial election2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election2018 Nevada gubernatorial election2018 New Hampshire gubernatorial election2018 New Mexico gubernatorial election2018 New York gubernatorial election2018 Ohio gubernatorial election2018 Oklahoma gubernatorial election2018 Oregon gubernatorial election2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election2018 Rhode Island gubernatorial election2018 South Carolina gubernatorial election2018 South Dakota gubernatorial election2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election2018 Texas gubernatorial election2018 Vermont gubernatorial election2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election2018 Wyoming gubernatorial election2018 Guam gubernatorial election2018 Northern Mariana Islands gubernatorial election2018 United States Virgin Islands gubernatorial election
Map of the results
     Democratic hold      Democratic gain
     Republican hold      Republican gain
     No election

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 2018, in 36 states and three territories. These elections formed part of the 2018 United States elections. Other coinciding elections were the 2018 United States Senate elections and the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections.

Many of the states holding gubernatorial elections have term limits which made some multi-term governors ineligible for re-election. Two Democratic governors were term-limited while six incumbent Democratic governors were eligible for re-election. Among Republican governors, twelve were term-limited while eleven could seek re-election. One independent governor was eligible for re-election.

Elections were held in 26 of the 33 states with Republican governors, nine of the 16 states with Democratic governors, one state (Alaska) with an independent governor, two territories (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands) with Republican governors, one territory (U.S. Virgin Islands) with an independent governor, and the District of Columbia with a Democratic mayor. Incumbent state governors running to be reelected included 14 Republicans, five Democrats, and one independent. Territorial incumbents running included one Republican and one independent. The incumbent Democratic mayor of Washington, D.C. also ran for re-election.

Democrats gained control of nine state and territorial governorships that had previously been held by Republicans and an independent. They picked up Republican-held open seats in the states of Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, and New Mexico, in addition to defeating Republican incumbents in Illinois and Wisconsin and not losing any seats of their own. Additionally, they won the Republican-controlled territory of Guam and the independent-controlled territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Republicans won the governorship of Alaska previously held by an independent.[2] Democrats also won the total popular vote for the year's gubernatorial elections for the second year in a row.

As of 2024, this is the last time that Republicans won governorships in Arizona, Maryland, and Massachusetts, and the last time that Democrats won the gubernatorial office in Nevada.

Six women won election for the first time as Governor in 2018.

  1. ^ "2018 Gubernatorial Election Results" Archived January 19, 2019, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "Governor Election Results: Democrats Retake Several States". The New York Times. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.