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United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states in October and November 2011, with regularly scheduled elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and a special election in West Virginia. None of these four governorships changed party hands, with Democratic incumbentsSteve Beshear andEarl Ray Tomblin winning inKentucky andWest Virginia, respectively; and Republicans re-electingBobby Jindal inLouisiana and holding the open seat inMississippi.
Several sites and individuals publish predictions of competitive seats. These predictions look at factors such as the strength of theincumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state'sCook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assign ratings to each state, with the rating indicating the predicted advantage that a party has in winning that seat.
Most election predictors use:
| State | Incumbent[2] | Last race | Cook Sep 15, 2011[3] | IE Aug 12, 2011[4] | Sabato Aug 24, 2011[5] | Gov Jul 25, 2011[6] | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Steve Beshear | 58.7% D | Lean D | Lean D | Likely D | Lean D | Beshear 55.7% D |
| Louisiana | Bobby Jindal | 53.9% R | Solid R | Solid R | Safe R | Safe R | Jindal 65.8% R |
| Mississippi | Haley Barbour(term-limited) | 57.9% R | Safe R | Solid R | Safe R | Safe R | Bryant 61.0% R |
| West Virginia | Earl Ray Tomblin | 69.8% D | Lean D | Lean D | Likely D | Lean D | Tomblin 49.6% D |
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | Steve Beshear | Democratic | 2007 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Louisiana | Bobby Jindal | Republican | 2007 | Incumbentre-elected. |
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| Mississippi | Haley Barbour | Republican | 2003 | Incumbent term-limited. New governorelected. Republican hold. |
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| West Virginia (special) | Earl Ray Tomblin | Democratic | 2010[b] | Incumbentelected to full term. |
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States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
Blue denotes states won by Democrats.
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On July 19, 2009,Steve Beshear announced his intention to run for re-election in 2011 and that then-Louisville mayorJerry Abramson would be his running mate.[7] On January 6, 2011, Beshear and Abramson officially filed their candidacy.[8]
Businessman Phil Moffett, Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, and State Senate presidentDavid L. Williams were the declared Republican candidates.[9] Agriculture commissionerRichie Farmer[10]Secretary of StateTrey Grayson,[11] and Businessman Bill Johnson,[12] were also speculated candidates, but all declined. However, Farmer would run as Williams' running mate.[9] The Williams-Farmer ticket won the primary on May 17.[13]
In the general election, Beshear won, defeating Williams and independent candidateGatewood Galbraith.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Steve Beshear (incumbent) | 464,245 | 55.72 | |
| Republican | David L. Williams | 294,034 | 35.29 | |
| Independent | Gatewood Galbraith | 74,860 | 8.99 | |
| Total votes | 833,139 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
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In 2008Bobby Jindal stated that it was unlikely he wouldrun for president in 2012 and that his primary electoral goal in the future would be on re-election in 2011.[14] On August 15, 2010, he confirmed his intention to run for re-election.[15]
Candidates who opposed Jindal included Attorney Cary Deaton (D), Teachers Tara Hollis (D) and Trey Roberts (D), victim advocacy activist Androniki "Niki Bird" Papazoglakis (D), Former Vice Chairman of theLibertarian Party of Louisiana Scott Lewis, ex-Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals David Blanchard (I), Computer Engineer Lenny Bollingham (I), Accountant Ron Ceasar (I), and Retired Volunteer Fire Chief Bob Lang (I).[16]
The election was then held on October 22 with all the candidates competing in anonpartisan blanket primary.[17] Jindal was elected to a second term, receiving an outright majority of the vote (thus a runoff election that would have occurred on November 19 became unnecessary).
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bobby Jindal (incumbent) | 673,239 | 65.80 | |
| Democratic | Tara Hollis | 182,925 | 17.88 | |
| Democratic | Cary Deaton | 50,071 | 4.89 | |
| Democratic | Trey Roberts | 33,280 | 3.25 | |
| Independent | David Blanchard | 26,705 | 2.61 | |
| Democratic | Niki Bird Papazoglakis | 21,885 | 2.14 | |
| Libertarian | Scott Lewis | 12,528 | 1.22 | |
| Independent | Bob Lang | 9,109 | 0.89 | |
| Independent | Ron Ceasar | 8,179 | 0.80 | |
| Independent | Lenny Bollingham | 5,242 | 0.51 | |
| Total votes | 1,023,163 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
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IncumbentGovernorHaley Barbour was term-limited in 2011.
The Republican candidates included author, small business owner, and Baptist minister James Broadwater; Lt. GovernorPhil Bryant; former New Orleans Federal Reserve Board Chairman Dave Dennis; and Pearl River County District SupervisorHudson Holliday.[18] Bryant won the Republican nomination by a wide margin.[19]
Prominent state businessmanBill Luckett[20] andHattiesburg MayorJohnny DuPree were two declared Democratic candidates.[21] Dupree defeated Luckett in the Primary runoff to win the Democratic nomination.[22]
Bryant ended up defeating Dupree in the general election.
TheLieutenant Governor was elected separately.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Phil Bryant | 544,851 | 60.98 | |
| Democratic | Johnny DuPree | 348,617 | 39.02 | |
| Total votes | 893,468 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
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TheSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ruled on January 18, 2011 that the state must hold a special gubernatorial election in 2011[23] to fill the vacancy resulting fromJoe Manchin's election to theUnited States Senate. State Senate PresidentEarl Ray Tomblin ascended to the office of Acting Governor in 2010; he is eligible to seek election for the remainder of Manchin's term and has stated that he will do so.[24]
Other Democratic candidates included state House SpeakerRick Thompson, Acting President of theWest Virginia SenateJeffrey V. Kessler,state Secretary of StateNatalie Tennant, and state TreasurerJohn Perdue.[23] Tomlin overcame intra-party opposition in the May 14 primary and thus advanced to the general election.[25]
The Declared Republican candidates include former Secretary of StateBetty Ireland, state Senate Minority WhipClark Barnes,[23][26] and Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia.[27] U.S. RepresentativeShelley Moore Capito and businessmanJohn Raese have both stated that they will not run.[28] BusinessmanBill Maloney won the Republican primary in an upset and faced Tomblin in the general election.[25]
In the general election, Tomblin defeated Maloney.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Earl Ray Tomblin (incumbent) | 149,202 | 49.55 | |
| Republican | Bill Maloney | 141,656 | 47.05 | |
| Mountain | Bob Henry Baber | 6,083 | 2.02 | |
| Independent | Marla Ingels | 2,875 | 0.95 | |
| American Third Position | Harry Bertram | 1,111 | 0.37 | |
| Write-in | 157 | 0.05 | ||
| Total votes | 301,084 | 100.00 | ||
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