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13 governorships 11 states; 2 territories | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Map of the results Democratic hold Republican hold Democratic gain Popular Democratic gain Nonpartisan No election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2000, in 11 states and two territories. The elections coincided with thepresidential election. Democrats gained one seat by defeating an incumbent inWest Virginia. As of 2025, this remains the last gubernatorial cycle in which a Democrat won in Indiana.
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
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| Delaware | Tom Carper | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent term-limited. Democratic hold. |
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| Indiana | Frank O'Bannon | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Missouri | Roger B. Wilson | Democratic | 2000[a] | Incumbent retired. Democratic hold. |
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| Montana | Marc Racicot | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent term-limited. Republican hold. |
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| New Hampshire | Jeanne Shaheen | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| North Carolina | Jim Hunt | Democratic | 1976 1984(term-limited) 1992 | Incumbent term-limited. Democratic hold. |
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| North Dakota | Ed Schafer | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent retired. Republican hold. |
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| Utah | Mike Leavitt | Republican | 1992 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Vermont | Howard Dean | Democratic | 1991[b] | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Washington | Gary Locke | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| West Virginia | Cecil Underwood | Republican | 1956 1960(term-limited) 1996 | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. |
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| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Samoa | Tauese Sunia | Democratic | 1996 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Puerto Rico | Pedro Rosselló | New Progressive | 1992 | Incumbent retired. Popular Democratic gain. |
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States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
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 County resultsMinner: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000, coinciding with theU.S. presidential election. Incumbent governorTom Carper was term-limited and instead successfullyran for theUnited States Senate.Lieutenant Governor andDemocratic nomineeRuth Ann Minner squared off againstRepublican nominee John M. Burris and won in a landslide on election day.
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 County results O'Bannon: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% McIntosh: 40–50% 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent governorFrank O'Bannon, a Democrat, was re-elected over RepublicanDavid M. McIntosh with 57% of the vote. Libertarian Andrew Horning also ran and received 2% of the vote. O'Bannon's victory was the fourth consecutive election in which a Democrat was electedGovernor of Indiana, the longest winning streak for that party in the state since theCivil War. As of 2023[update], this was the last time a Democrat was elected Governor of Indiana.
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 County results Holden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Talent: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000 and resulted in a narrow victory for theDemocratic nominee,State Treasurer of MissouriBob Holden, over theRepublican candidate,U.S. RepresentativeJim Talent, and several other candidates. Incumbent Democratic governorMel Carnahan was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. However, he was killed in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, while campaigning forMissouri's Class 1 Senate seat. Lieutenant GovernorRoger B. Wilson succeeded to the office following Carnahan's death.
Coincidentally, Talent would later be elected at the2002 Senate special election and defeated Mel Carnahan's widowJean Carnahan to begin the rest of Mel Carnahan's unexpired Senate term. This was the only time between1968 and2020 that the winner of the Missouri gubernatorial election did not come from the same party as the winner of the presidential election held simultaneously. This gubernatorial election was one of the closest in Missouri's history. Bob Holden did well, as expected inSt. Louis andKansas City. Talent easily won most rural parts of the state. Holden did poorly in theSt. Louis suburbs. However Holden's overwhelming wins in theDemocratic strongholds ofSt. Louis andKansas City proved to be just enough to push him over the finish line. Because the election was decided by less than 1%, Talent could have requested a recount that his campaign would have to pay for since it was not below half a percent. However, most recounts never see a swing of more than 1,000 votes, and Talent was trailing by 21,445. Talent ultimately did not request a recount and conceded defeat on the late evening of November 14.
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| Turnout | 59.90% 10.70[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Martz: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% O'Keefe: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbentgovernor of MontanaMarc Racicot, who was first elected in1992 and was re-elected in1996, was unable to seek re-election due to term limits.Judy Martz, thelieutenant governor of Montana under Racicot for four years, won theRepublican primary and advanced to the general election, where she facedMark O'Keefe, the Montana State Auditor andDemocratic nominee. Despite the fact thatGeorge W. Bush, theRepublican nominee for president in2000, won the state in alandslide, the race between Martz and O'Keefe was close. However, Martz managed to narrowly defeat him to win her first and only term as governor. This was the last time that a Republican was elected Governor of Montana until2020, whenGreg Gianforte was elected.[3]
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 County results Municipality resultsShaheen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Humphrey: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Tie: 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000.IncumbentDemocraticGovernor Jeanne Shaheen won re-election.
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 County results Easley: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. The general election was fought between theRepublican nominee, former mayor ofCharlotteRichard Vinroot and theDemocratic nominee, stateAttorney GeneralMike Easley. Easley won by 52% to 46% and succeeded fellow DemocratJim Hunt asgovernor.
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 County results Hoeven: 50–60% 60–70% Heitkamp: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 North Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000 for the post ofGovernor of North Dakota.IncumbentRepublican governorEd Schafer decided not to run for reelection. Republican nomineeJohn Hoeven won the election over Democratic State Attorney GeneralHeidi Heitkamp. Heitkamp had led in the polls until early October, when reports indicated that she hadbreast cancer, and would undergo surgery. She ran advertisements to assure voters she was still fit to serve; however, by the final month, Hoeven had taken a six-point lead in polling.[4] As of 2021, this is the most recent North Dakota gubernatorial election in which the Democratic nominee received over 40% of the vote. Hoeven and Heitkamp later served alongside each other in theUnited States Senate from 2013 to 2019.
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 County results Leavitt: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Orton: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. IncumbentRepublicanMike Leavitt won reelection to a third term.
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 County results Municipality resultsDean: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Dwyer: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. IncumbentDemocratic governorHoward Dean won re-election. The campaign was dominated by the fallout from thepassage of a civil union bill and the subsequent backlash encapsulated by the sloganTake Back Vermont.Ruth Dwyer, the Republican nominee in1998, ran again in 2000 and was closely tied to the Take Back Vermont movement. Howard Dean, the Democratic governor, favored civil unions and was a primary target of Take Back Vermont.[5]
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 County results Locke: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic governorGary Locke defeated the Republican candidateJohn Carlson for his second term in a landslide.
As of 2022[update], this was the earliest gubernatorial election in Washington in which both candidates are currently still living. This is the last time a Democratic nominee for governor outperformed the Democratic nominee for president in Washington. This would also be the last gubernatorial election in Washington in which the margin of victory was in double digits and in which any counties inEastern Washington voted for a Democrat untilJay Inslee's2020 landslide victory.
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 County results Wise: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Underwood: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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The2000 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2000. IncumbentRepublican governorCecil Underwood ran for re-election to a second consecutive term in office, but was defeated byDemocraticU.S. RepresentativeBob Wise. Concurrently, the state voted for the opposite party federally, choosing Republican nominee,George W. Bush over Democratic nomineeAl Gore in thepresidential election that year. As of 2022[update], this was the last time in which an incumbent West Virginia Governor lost re-election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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| Democratic | Tauese Sunia | {{{votes}}} | 51.4% | |
| Independent | L. Peter Reid | {{{votes}}} | 48.6% | |
| Total votes | {{{votes}}} | 100.00 | ||
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| Turnout | 82.20% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by municipality Calderón: 40-50% 50-60% Pesquera: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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