2008 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 2008, in 11 states and two territories. Prior to the election, eight of the total seats were held by Democrats and five by Republicans. Two governors were prohibited by term limits from seeking re-election in 2008. The only governorship to change party was the open seat in Missouri, which was won by a Democrat after being previously held by a Republican.

2008 United States gubernatorial elections

November 4, 2008
13 governorships 11 states; 2 territories
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 28 22 Seats after 29 21 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 8,395,587 7,901,188 Percentage 50.22% 47.26% Seats up 6 5 Seats won 7 4
Map of the results      Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      New Progressive gain       Nonpartisan politician      No election

These elections coincided with the presidential election, as well as the elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives and many local elections, state elections, and ballot propositions.

Election predictions

State	Incumbent	Last race	Cook October 16, 2008	Sabato November 3, 2008	Rothenberg November 2, 2008	RCP November 4, 2008	Result
Delaware	Ruth Ann Minner (term-limited)	50.9% D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Markell (67.5%)
Indiana	Mitch Daniels	53.2% R	Lean R	Lean R	Likely R	Lean R	Daniels (57.8%)
Missouri	Matt Blunt (retired)	50.8% R	Lean D (flip)	Lean D (flip)	Likely D (flip)	Likely D (flip)	Nixon (58.4%)
Montana	Brian Schweitzer	50.4% D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Schweitzer (65.5%)
New Hampshire	John Lynch	74.0% D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Lynch (70.1%)
North Carolina	Mike Easley (term-limited)	55.6% D	Tossup	Lean D	Tossup	Tossup	Perdue (50.3%)
North Dakota	John Hoeven	71.3% R	Safe R	Safe R	Safe R	Safe R	Hoeven (74.4%)
Utah	Jon Huntsman Jr.	57.7% R	Safe R	Safe R	Safe R	Safe R	Huntsman Jr. (77.6%)
Vermont	Jim Douglas	56.3% R	Likely R	Likely R	Safe R	Safe R	Douglas (53.4%)
Washington	Christine Gregoire	48.9% D	Tossup	Lean D	Tossup	Tossup	Gregoire (53.2%)
West Virginia	Joe Manchin	63.5% D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Safe D	Manchin (69.8%)

Race summary

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Delaware	Ruth Ann Minner	Democratic	2000	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Jack Markell (Democratic) 67.5% ▌Bill Lee (Republican) 32.1%
Indiana	Mitch Daniels	Republican	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Mitch Daniels (Republican) 57.8% ▌Jill Long Thompson (Democratic) 40.1% ▌Andy Horning (Libertarian) 2.1%
Missouri	Matt Blunt	Republican	2004	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Jay Nixon (Democratic) 58.4% ▌Kenny Hulshof (Republican) 39.5% ▌Andrew Finkenstadt (Libertarian) 1.1% ▌Gregory Thompson (Constitution) 1.0%
Montana	Brian Schweitzer	Democratic	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Brian Schweitzer (Democratic) 65.5% ▌Roy Brown (Republican) 32.5% ▌Stan Jones (Libertarian) 2.0%
New Hampshire	John Lynch	Democratic	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Lynch (Democratic) 70.2% ▌Joseph Kenney (Republican) 27.6% ▌Susan Newell (Libertarian) 2.2%
North Carolina	Mike Easley	Democratic	2000	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y Bev Perdue (Democratic) 50.3% ▌Pat McCrory (Republican) 46.9% ▌Michael Munger (Libertarian) 2.9%
North Dakota	John Hoeven	Republican	2000	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Hoeven (Republican) 74.4% ▌Tim Mathern (Democratic–NPL) 23.5% ▌DuWayne Hendrickson (Independent) 2.0%
Utah	Jon Huntsman Jr.	Republican	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jon Huntsman Jr. (Republican) 77.6% ▌Bob Springmeyer (Democratic) 19.7% ▌Dell Schanze (Libertarian) 2.6%
Vermont	Jim Douglas	Republican	2002	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jim Douglas (Republican) 53.4% ▌Anthony Pollina (Independent) 21.8% ▌Gaye Symington (Democratic) 21.7%
Washington	Christine Gregoire	Democratic	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Christine Gregoire (Democratic) 53.2% ▌Dino Rossi (Republican) 46.8%
West Virginia	Joe Manchin	Democratic	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Joe Manchin (Democratic) 69.8% ▌Russ Weeks (Republican) 25.7% ▌Jesse Johnson (Mountain) 4.5%

Territories

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
American Samoa	Togiola Tulafono	Democratic	2004	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Togiola Tulafono (Democratic) 56.4% ▌Utu Abe Malae (Republican) 43.6%
Puerto Rico	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá	Popular Democratic	2004	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. New Progressive gain.	▌Y Luis Fortuño (PNP) 52.8% ▌Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (PPD) 41.3% ▌Rogelio Figueroa (PPR) 2.8% ▌Edwin Irizarry Mora (PIP) 2.0%

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. North Carolina, 3.39%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

1. Washington, 6.45%

Blue denotes states won by Democrats.

Delaware

2008 Delaware gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Jack Markell Bill Lee Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 266,861 126,662 Percentage 67.5% 32.0%

County results

Governor before election Ruth Ann Minner Democratic Elected Governor Jack Markell Democratic

Main article: 2008 Delaware gubernatorial election

See also: 2008 Delaware lieutenant gubernatorial election

Ruth Ann Minner was term-limited in 2008. As of 2008, Democrats had controlled the Delaware governorship for 16 years. In an upset, state Treasurer Jack Markell defeated Lieutenant Governor John Carney by 51 to 49% for the Democratic nomination on September 9. The Republican nominee was former state Superior Court Judge Bill Lee, defeating airline pilot Michael Protrack. Lee was the Republican nominee for governor in 2004, and lost to Minner by a narrow margin.

The race got more attention due to the vice presidential candidacy of U.S. Senator Joe Biden. Since Biden, a senator, was elected to be Vice President, he needed to resign his Senate seat. The new governor was then called upon to appoint someone to replace Biden in the Senate. Since Lee would naturally have been more inclined to select a Republican, his election could have caused a Republican pickup in the Senate by proxy. However, he was defeated by a wide margin on election day by Markell. Senator Biden resigned his seat in the United States Senate on January 15, 2009, and Governor Minner appointed Ted Kaufman to Biden's seat. Kaufman had previously served as Senator Biden's Chief of Staff during his tenure in the United States Senate.

Delaware election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack Markell	266,861	67.52
	Republican	Bill Lee	126,662	32.05
	Blue Enigma	Jeffrey Brown	1,681	0.43
Total votes			395,204	100.00
	Democratic hold

Indiana

2008 Indiana gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Mitch Daniels Jill Long Thompson Party Republican Democratic Running mate Becky Skillman Dennie Oxley Popular vote 1,563,885 1,082,463 Percentage 57.8% 40.1%

County results

Governor before election Mitch Daniels Republican Elected Governor Mitch Daniels Republican

Main article: 2008 Indiana gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels faced Democratic nominee former Congresswoman and Undersecretary of Agriculture Jill Long Thompson, and Libertarian nominee engineer Andy Horning, who also ran for governor in 2000.

Some pundits thought Mitch Daniels was vulnerable in 2008, but polling taken by SurveyUSA on October 21 and 22, 2008 showed him with a significant 54–35 lead. He won re-election easily, confirming these predictions.

While Indiana had not voted Democratic for president since 1964, Daniels was the first Republican elected governor in 16 years there. Daniels was also endorsed by the state's largest newspapers, the Indianapolis Star, the Evansville Courier & Press, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, the Times of Northwest Indiana, the Gary Post-Tribune and the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Indiana election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mitch Daniels (incumbent)	1,563,885	57.84
	Democratic	Jill Long Thompson	1,082,463	40.04
	Libertarian	Andy Horning	57,376	2.12
	Write-in		27	0.00
Total votes			2,703,751	100.00
	Republican hold

Missouri

2008 Missouri gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Jay Nixon Kenny Hulshof Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,680,611 1,136,364 Percentage 58.4% 39.5%

County results

Governor before election Matt Blunt Republican Elected Governor Jay Nixon Democratic

Main article: 2008 Missouri gubernatorial election

See also: 2008 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

Matt Blunt was considered to be the most vulnerable incumbent in the 2008 election cycle, but decided on January 22, 2008, not to seek re-election. Blunt's approval rating was the nation's second-lowest after Governor Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky for much of 2007, though his approval rating improved and approached 50% in a May poll conducted by SurveyUSA.

The Republican nominee was Congressman Kenny Hulshof. The Democratic nominee was four-term Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1998. Nixon defeated Hulshof comfortably, despite the fact that Missouri ultimately voted for John McCain, a Republican, for president. Missouri was the only state not to re-elect the incumbent party for governor in 2008.

Missouri election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jay Nixon	1,680,611	58.40
	Republican	Kenny Hulshof	1,136,364	39.49
	Libertarian	Andrew Finkenstadt	31,850	1.11
	Constitution	Gregory Thompson	28,941	1.01
	Write-in		12	0.00
Total votes			2,877,778	100.00
	Democratic gain from Republican

Montana

2008 Montana gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Brian Schweitzer Roy Brown Party Democratic Republican Running mate John Bohlinger Steve Daines Popular vote 318,670 158,268 Percentage 65.5% 32.5%

County results

Governor before election Brian Schweitzer Democratic Elected Governor Brian Schweitzer Democratic

Main article: 2008 Montana gubernatorial election

Democrat Brian Schweitzer of Montana (running with Lt. Governor John Bohlinger) was heavily favored to win re-election as he had better funding and high approval ratings as current Governor. The Republican nominee was State Senator Roy Brown (running with Steve Daines), and the Libertarian nominee was Stan Jones (running with Michael Baker). Schweitzer won some press coverage with his well-received speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He was criticized, however, for a speech in July in which he jested that he helped defeat U.S. Senator Conrad Burns in 2006 by tampering with the vote totals, which he insisted was purely a joke. Schweitzer won re-election by a comfortable margin despite the criticism.

Montana election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brian Schweitzer (incumbent)	318,670	65.47
	Republican	Roy Brown	158,268	32.52
	Libertarian	Stan Jones	9,796	2.01
Total votes			486,734	100.00
	Democratic hold

New Hampshire

2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee John Lynch Joseph Kenney Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 479,042 188,555 Percentage 70.1% 27.6%

County results

Governor before election John Lynch Democratic Elected Governor John Lynch Democratic

Main article: 2008 New Hampshire gubernatorial election

In New Hampshire, Democrat John Lynch easily won re-election against State Senator Joseph D. Kenney, the Republican nominee.

NOTE: New Hampshire's gubernatorial elections are held every in alternate (even-numbered) years, instead of every fourth year.

New Hampshire election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Lynch (incumbent)	479,042	70.15
	Republican	Joseph Kenney	188,555	27.61
	Libertarian	Susan Newell	14,987	2.19
	Write-in		326	0.05
Total votes			682,910	100.00
	Democratic hold

North Carolina

2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Bev Perdue Pat McCrory Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 2,146,189 2,001,168 Percentage 50.3% 46.9%

County results

Governor before election Mike Easley Democratic Elected Governor Bev Perdue Democratic

Main article: 2008 North Carolina gubernatorial election

See also: 2008 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election

Mike Easley was term-limited in 2008, in another state whose governorship had been held by Democrats for 16 years. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue was the Democratic nominee, defeating Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican nominee.

North Carolina election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bev Perdue	2,146,189	50.27
	Republican	Pat McCrory	2,001,168	46.88
	Libertarian	Michael Munger	121,584	2.85
Total votes			4,268,941	100.00
	Democratic hold

North Dakota

2008 North Dakota gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee John Hoeven Tim Mathern Party Republican Democratic–NPL Running mate Jack Dalrymple Merle Boucher Popular vote 235,009 74,279 Percentage 74.4% 23.5%

County results

Governor before election John Hoeven Republican Elected Governor John Hoeven Republican

Main article: 2008 North Dakota gubernatorial election

Republican John Hoeven announced he would seek re-election for a third term in 2008. He won re-election with 74% of the vote. Soundly defeating the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, State Senator Tim Mathern, (24%) and independent candidate DuWayne Hendrickson (2%).

North Dakota election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John Hoeven (incumbent)	235,009	74.44
	Democratic–NPL	Tim Mathern	74,279	23.53
	Independent	DuWayne Hendrickson	6,404	2.03
Total votes			315,692	100.00
	Republican hold

Utah

2008 Utah gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Jon Huntsman Jr. Bob Springmeyer Party Republican Democratic Running mate Gary Herbert Josie Valdez Popular vote 735,049 186,503 Percentage 77.6% 19.7%

County results

Governor before election Jon Huntsman Jr. Republican Elected Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. Republican

Main article: 2008 Utah gubernatorial election

Jon Huntsman Jr. was heavily favored to win re-election in Utah. As of 2008, Republicans had controlled the Utah governorship for 24 years. Democrat Bob Springmeyer challenged Huntsman, but was decisively defeated.

Utah election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Huntsman Jr. (incumbent)	735,049	77.63
	Democratic	Bob Springmeyer	186,503	19.72
	Libertarian	Dell Schanze	24,820	2.62
	Write-in		153	0.02
Total votes			945,525	100.00
	Republican hold

Vermont

2008 Vermont gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Jim Douglas Anthony Pollina Gaye Symington Party Republican Independent Democratic Popular vote 170,492 69,791 69,534 Percentage 53.4% 21.8% 21.7%

County results

Governor before election Jim Douglas Republican Elected Governor Jim Douglas Republican

Main article: 2008 Vermont gubernatorial election

Three-term incumbent Jim Douglas ran as a Republican, and House Speaker Gaye Symington ran as a Democrat. Other candidates included Anthony Pollina of the Vermont Progressive Party and Cris Ericson of the Marijuana Party. Douglas was re-elected.

Vermont election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Douglas (incumbent)	170,492	53.43
	Independent	Anthony Pollina	69,791	21.87
	Democratic	Gaye Symington	69,534	21.79
	Independent	Tony O'Connor	3,106	0.97
	Independent	Sam Young	2,490	0.78
	Liberty Union	Peter Diamondstone	1,710	0.54
	Independent	Cris Ericson	1,704	0.53
	Write-in		258	0.08
Total votes			319,085	100.00
	Republican hold

Washington

2008 Washington gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Christine Gregoire Dino Rossi Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,598,738 1,404,124 Percentage 53.2% 46.8%

County results

Governor before election Christine Gregoire Democratic Elected Governor Christine Gregoire Democratic

Main article: 2008 Washington gubernatorial election

Democrat Christine Gregoire is perhaps best known for having won in 2004 by 133 votes in the third official count, after having lost the initial count by 261 votes and the first recount by 24 votes. Her 2004 opponent, Republican former State Senator Dino Rossi, officially announced his candidacy on October 25, 2007. Pre-election SurveyUSA polls showed Gregoire leading Rossi with a 50% to 47% margin. A September 10 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed Rossi pulling ahead by a 52% to 46% margin. The race was expected to be extremely close, but Gregoire was reelected by a wider than expected margin of 6.45%.

Washington election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Gregoire (incumbent)	1,598,738	53.24
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,404,124	46.76
Total votes			3,002,862	100.00
	Democratic hold

West Virginia

2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Joe Manchin Russ Weeks Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 492,697 181,612 Percentage 69.8% 25.7%

County results

Governor before election Joe Manchin Democratic Elected Governor Joe Manchin Democratic

Main article: 2008 West Virginia gubernatorial election

Democrat Joe Manchin ran for re-election in West Virginia and was heavily favored according to pre-election polls. On November 4, he faced former State Senator Russ Weeks, a Republican, and Mountain Party candidate Jesse Johnson, who ran in 2004. Butch Paugh of the Constitution Party also attempted a run but failed to qualify for the ballot. Manchin won re-election by a landslide.

West Virginia election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Manchin (incumbent)	492,697	69.81
	Republican	Russ Weeks	181,612	25.73
	Mountain	Jesse Johnson	31,486	4.46
Total votes			705,795	100.00
	Democratic hold

Territories

American Samoa

2008 American Samoa gubernatorial election

November 18, 2008

Candidate Togiola Tulafono Utu Abe Malae Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 6,590 5,084 Percentage 56.4% 43.6%

Governor before election Togiola Tulafono Democratic Elected Governor Togiola Tulafono Democratic

Main article: 2008 American Samoa gubernatorial election

American Samoa's Togiola Tulafono sought re-election in 2008 with Lieutenant Governor Ipulasi Aitofele Sunia. He won his first term 55.7% to 44.3% in the 2004 run-off against Afoa Moega Lutu. Tulafono was again challenged by Afoa Moega Lutu and Velega Savali, who ran as a nonpartisan team for governor and lieutenant governor respectively. Utu Abe Malae and Tuika Tuika also ran to become the next Governor on separate, nonpartisan tickets. Tulafono won in a close vote that split three ways.

American Samoa election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Togiola Tulafono (incumbent)	6,590	56.45
	Nonpartisan	Utu Abe Malae	5,084	43.55
Total votes			11,674	100.00
	Democratic hold

Puerto Rico

2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election

November 4, 2008

Nominee Luis Fortuño Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Party New Progressive Popular Democratic Popular vote 1,025,965 801,071 Percentage 52.8% 41.3%

Municipality results

Governor before election Aníbal Acevedo Vilá Popular Democratic Elected Governor Luis Fortuño New Progressive

Main article: 2008 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá of Puerto Rico ran for a second term in 2008. In 2004, Acevedo narrowly beat former Governor and Senator Pedro Rosselló, also a Democrat, by a mere 3,566 votes.

Republican at-large Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, who announced in December 2006 that he would not again seek re-election to his current post, ran against him. There was also a movement to elect Senator Rosselló as a write-in choice for governor.

The Puerto Rican Independence Party's candidate was Edwin Irizarry Mora, while a fourth candidate, Rogelio Figueroa (Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico Party), ran on an environmentalist platform.

Acevedo was defeated by Fortuño on election day. The federal indictment against Acevedo for alleged corruption schemes when he was in Congress, and generally low approval, may have been a drag on his candidacy and chances of winning re-election.

Puerto Rico election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Progressive	Luis Fortuño	1,025,965	52.77
	Popular Democratic	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (incumbent)	801,071	41.29
	Puerto Ricans for Puerto Rico	Rogelio Figueroa	53,693	2.76
	Independence	Edwin Irizarry Mora	39,590	2.04
	Write-in		13,215	0.64
Total votes			1,933,534	100.00
	New Progressive gain from Popular Democratic

Overall results

At the 2008 elections, all 55 governorships of the states and territories were occupied. However, in the 2008 election cycle, only thirteen seats were up for election - eleven were statewide, and two were territorial. Eight seats were held by Democrats, and the remaining five were held by Republicans.

See also

• 2008 United States elections
  • 2008 United States presidential election
  • 2008 United States Senate elections
  • 2008 United States House of Representatives elections