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2016 State Executive Elections

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Partisan analysis

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Lieutenant gubernatorial elections

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See also

General election date: November 8, 2016

There were 93 state executive offices up for election across 23 states in 2016. Prior to the election, Democrats held 48 of the offices and Republicans held 41, which put Democrats at a greaterpartisan risk of losing positions. Republicans gained 12 offices at the state executive level in 2016 by winning 53 races up for election compared to 38 for the Democratic Party.

The 2016 elections resulted in Republicans netting two newstate government trifectas and Democrats losing one trifecta, which left Republicans with trifecta control in 25 states compared to six states under Democratic trifecta control.

Overview

The offices

State executives act in many capacities according to the powers granted to them by their state's constitution. They are also charged with implementing and enforcing laws made by state legislatures. There are 748executive seats spread across13 distinct types of offices in the United States.^[1] Of the 13 executive offices, only seven exist in all 50 states:governor,attorney general,superintendent of schools,insurance commissioner,agriculture commissioner,labor commissioner, andpublic service commissioner.

Othercommon offices includelieutenant governor,secretary of state,treasurer,controller,auditor, andnatural resources commissioner.

The governor is the chief executive of a state’s government and other executive offices ordinarily report to him or her. The governor is also the only executive that is elected in all 50 states. Attorneys general, for example,are elected in 43 states but appointed by the governor in seven, while public service commissionersare appointed by the governor in 39 states and elected in 11 states.

2016 elections

On November 8, 2016, a total of 93 state executive seats were scheduled for election in 23 states. All 13 types of executive offices had an election in at least one state. Twelve stateselected governors, including aspecial election in Oregon, and ten stateselected attorneys general. ThoughRepublicans heldtwice as many state executive offices asDemocrats across the country, heading into the 2016 cycle Democrats held 48 of the 93 seats up for election while Republicans held 41 seats.^[2] In 51 of the 93 seats up for election in 2016, incumbents ran for re-election.

Republicans won 53 of the 93 seats up for election. InMissouri, Republicans won all five seats up for election, four of which had previously been held by Democrats. RepublicanEric Greitens' victory in thegubernatorial race won the party trifecta control of the state, which also went toDonald Trump in the presidential election. Democrats retained control of the governorship inWest Virginia, but Republicans managed to unseat two incumbent Democrats—secretary of state andagriculture commissioner—and won the election forstate auditor for the first time since 1928. Republicans also picked up Washington'streasurer seat, which the party hadn't held since 1957. In Oregon, Republicans won the secretary of state seat for the first time in three decades.

Context of the 2016 elections

Republicans looked to maintain trifecta control

Republicans hadtrifecta control of state government in four of the 12 states holding gubernatorial elections in 2016:Indiana,North Carolina,North Dakota, andUtah. Democrats had trifecta control in three states:Delaware,Vermont, andOregon. Trifecta control requires that one party holds thegovernorship in addition to a majority in thestate senate andstate house.

Republicans gained trifectas inNew Hampshire andMissouri after winning the governorships in those states. The party also ended a five-year Democratic trifecta when it won the governorship inVermont. Republicans lost a trifecta as a result of theNorth Carolina gubernatorial election.

Democrats were at greater relative risk in 2016

Across the country,Republicans outnumbered Democrats in every state executive office, holding almost twice as many executive seats.^[3] However, Democrats held about 50 percent of the total executive seats up for election in 2016, which created apartisan risk in that a disproportionate number of seats held by Democrats were being challenged compared to the actual partisan balance. Democrats entered the November 2016 elections in a position of greater relative risk than Republicans.

Republicans held most gubernatorial offices

U.S. governor elections 2008-2014
Year	Total races	Won	Won
2008[4]	11	7	3
2010	37	13	23
2012	12	8	4
2014	36	10	25

Republicans gained two governor seats in 2014, in addition to two lieutenant governor and two attorney general seats.Heading into the November 2016 elections, Republicans held 31 governor seats, Democrats held 18, and independents held one. Of the 12 governor seatsup for election in 2016, eight were held by Democrats that were elected to four-year terms during the 2012 presidential election cycle.^[5]

Republicans picked up three governorships after the 2016 elections inNew Hampshire,Vermont, andMissouri. Democrats flipped the governor's seat inNorth Carolina.

Higher voter turnout was expected

State executive races across the country coincided with ahighly competitive presidential election, which drives up voter turnout and attention for races down the ballot.^[6] This increased turnout during presidential election years can significantly affect the partisan balance of state governments. In particular, offices elected during mid-presidential term elections disadvantage the party of the current president, a trend that has remained relatively constant since the Civil War. Presidential election years see aggregate gains for the party of the winning presidential candidate.^[7][6]

Ballotpedia’s analysis of gubernatorial elections over the past eight years (see table, right) showed thatDemocrats won a greater percentage of seats during the years that coincided with the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, both of which were won by DemocraticPresidentBarack Obama. Mid-presidential term elections during this period favoredRepublican candidates.

Forty-three states held elections for a total of 225 executive offices in2014; the same year,voter turnout was the lowest recorded since 1942.^[8] Voter turnout has dropped during mid-presidential term elections since the 1840s.^[7]

Competitiveness

Ballotpedia’s first annual study of competitiveness in state executive elections reveals that 2016 elections were more competitive than recent election cycles on average.

Click here to view full data and analysis ►►►

Offices up for election

Gubernatorial elections

There were12 gubernatorial seats up for election in 2016. In addition to the 11 regularly scheduled elections,Oregon held a special election forgovernor due to theFebruary 2015 resignation of formerGov. John Kitzhaber (D).Gov. Kate Brown (D), who succeeded Kitzhaber,sought election to the remainder of Kitzhaber's term, which was scheduled for regular election in 2018.^[9] The following states elected governors in 2016:

• Delaware: IncumbentJack Markell (D) was unable to run due to term limits. This seat did not change party hands.
• Indiana: IncumbentMike Pence (R) dropped out of the race mid-election torun for vice president of theUnited States. This seat did not change party hands.
• Missouri: IncumbentJay Nixon (D) was unable to run due to term limits. This seat changed party hands in 2016.
• Montana: IncumbentSteve Bullock (D) ran for re-election. This seat did not change party hands.
• New Hampshire: IncumbentMaggie Hassan (D) was eligible but did not seek re-election. This seat changed party hands in 2016.
• North Carolina: IncumbentPat McCrory (R) ran for re-election. This seat changed party hands in 2016.
• North Dakota: IncumbentJack Dalrymple (R) was eligible but did not seek re-election. This seat did not change party hands.
• Oregon: IncumbentKate Brown (D) ran for re-election. This seat did not change party hands.
• Utah: IncumbentGary Herbert (R) ran for re-election. This seat did not change party hands.
• Vermont: IncumbentPeter Shumlin (D) was eligible but did not seek re-election. This seat changed party hands in 2016.
• Washington: IncumbentJay Inslee (D) ran for re-election. This seat did not change party hands.
• West Virginia: IncumbentEarl Ray Tomblin (D) was unable to run due to term limits. This seat did not change party hands.

Lieutenant gubernatorial elections

There werenine lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2016. These seats were up for election inDelaware,Indiana,Missouri,Montana,North Carolina,North Dakota,Utah,Vermont, andWashington.New Hampshire andOregon do not havelieutenant governors; inWest Virginia, the President of theState Senate serves as de factolieutenant governor and is elected from within the Senate. Only one seat changed party hands in 2016. Democrat/ProgressiveDavid Zuckerman won the lieutenant governor election inVermont, which was open due to incumbent RepublicanPhil Scott’s successful bid for the governorship.

Other offices

There were 72 other state executive seats on the ballot in 2016. In addition to the regularly scheduled elections,Illinois andNew Mexico held special elections for vacancies with terms expiring in 2018. New Mexicoelected asecretary of state following the October 2015 resignation ofDianna Duran (R) after she was indicted oncriminal charges. Illinoiselected acomptroller following the death ofJudy Baar Topinka (R). Topinka won re-election inNovember 2014 but died before swearing in for her new term. In a January 2015 special session, Illinois legislators approved a bill requiring special elections for vacancies in the offices of theattorney general,secretary of state, comptroller, andtreasurer.^[10] The following offices were up for election in 2016:

By office

Twenty-three states held 13 sets of elections for a total of 93 executive seats in November 2016. Browse these elections by office:

By state

Twenty-three states held 13 sets of elections for a total of 93 executive seats in November 2016. Browse these elections by state:

Election dates

General election

November 8

Voter turnout

Political scientist Michael McDonald's United States Elections Project studied voter turnout in the 2014 election by looking at the percentage of eligible voters who headed to the polls. McDonald used voting-eligible population (VEP), or the number of eligible voters independent of their current registration status, to calculate turnout rates in each state on November 4. He also incorporated ballots cast for the highest office in each state into his calculation. He estimated that 81,687,059 ballots were cast in the 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia, representing 35.9 percent of the VEP.^[11] By comparison, 61.6 percent of VEP voted in the 2008 presidential election and 58.2 percent of VEP voted in the 2012 presidential election.^[12]

Quick facts

• According toPBS Newshour, voter turnout in the 2014 midterms was the lowest since the 1942 midterms, which took place during the nation's involvement in World War II.^[13]

• Forty-three states and the District of Columbia did not surpass 50 percent turnout in McDonald's analysis.

• The three states with the lowest turnout according to McDonald's analysis wereTexas (28.3 percent),Tennessee (28.6 percent), andIndiana (28.8 percent).

• Maine (58.5 percent),Wisconsin (56.5 percent), andColorado (54.5 percent) were the three states with the highest turnout.

• Twelve states increased voter turnout in 2014 compared to the 2010 midterm elections.^[14]

Note: Information from the United States Elections Project was last updated on December 16, 2014.

See also

Suggest a link

Footnotes

v • e 2016 state executive official elections Governor Delaware •Indiana •Missouri •Montana •New Hampshire •North Carolina •North Dakota •Oregon •Utah •Vermont •Washington •West Virginia Lieutenant Governor Delaware •Indiana •Missouri •Montana •North Carolina •North Dakota •Utah •Vermont •Washington Secretary of State Missouri •Montana •New Mexico •North Carolina •Vermont •Washington •West Virginia Attorney General Indiana •Missouri •Montana •North Carolina •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Utah •Vermont •Washington •West Virginia Down ballot offices Treasurer:Missouri •North Carolina •North Dakota •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Utah •Vermont •Washington •West Virginia Auditor:Montana •North Carolina •North Dakota •Pennsylvania •Utah •Vermont •Washington •West Virginia Superintendent of Schools:Indiana •Montana •North Carolina •North Dakota •Washington Insurance Commissioner:Delaware •Montana •North Carolina •North Dakota •Washington Natural Resources Commissioner:Washington Agriculture Commissioner:North Carolina •West Virginia Labor Commissioner:North Carolina Public Service Commissioner:Alabama •Arizona •Georgia •Louisiana •Montana •Nebraska •New Mexico •North Dakota •Oklahoma •South Dakota Comptroller:Illinois Election information Ballot access for major and minor party candidates •Filing deadlines and primary dates