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15 governorships 14 states; 1 territory | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Republican hold Republican gain Democratic hold Democratic gain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1976, in 14 states and one territory. Democrats achieved a net gain of one in these elections. This coincided with theHouse,Senate elections, and thepresidential election.
This was the last year in whichIllinois held a gubernatorial election on the same year as the presidential election. The state of Illinois moved its gubernatorial election date to midterm congressional election years. As a result, the governor elected this year, served a term of only two years.
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
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| Arkansas | David Pryor | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbentre-elected.[1] |
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| Delaware | Sherman W. Tribbitt | Democratic | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-election.[2] New governorelected. Republican gain. |
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| Illinois | Dan Walker | Democratic | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-nomination.[3][4] New governorelected. Republican gain. |
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| Indiana | Otis Bowen | Republican | 1972 | Incumbentre-elected.[5] |
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| Missouri | Kit Bond | Republican | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-election.[6] New governorelected. Democratic gain. |
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| Montana | Thomas Lee Judge | Democratic | 1972 | Incumbentre-elected.[7] |
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| New Hampshire | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | Republican | 1972 | Incumbentre-elected.[8] |
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| North Carolina | James Holshouser | Republican | 1972 | Incumbent term-limited.[9] New governorelected. Democratic gain. |
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| North Dakota | Arthur A. Link | Democratic-NPL | 1972 | Incumbentre-elected.[10] |
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| Rhode Island | Philip Noel | Democratic | 1972 | Incumbent retired.[11] New governorelected. Democratic hold. |
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| Utah | Cal Rampton | Democratic | 1964 | Incumbent retired.[12] New governorelected. Democratic hold. |
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| Vermont | Thomas P. Salmon | Democratic | 1972 | Incumbent retired.[13] New governorelected. Republican gain. |
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| Washington | Daniel J. Evans | Republican | 1964 | Incumbent retired.[14] New governorelected. Democratic gain. |
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| West Virginia | Arch A. Moore Jr. | Republican | 1968 | Incumbent term-limited.[15] New governorelected. Democratic gain. |
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States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
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 County results Pryor: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday November 2, IncumbentDemocratic governorDavid Pryor defeatedRepublican candidate Leon Griffith with 83.24% of the vote.
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 County results House district resultsdu Pont: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Tribbitt: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. Pitting incumbentDemocraticGovernorSherman W. Tribbitt AgainstU.S. RepresentativePete du Pont. Largely due to the state's unresolved financial problems, du Pont defeated Governor Tribbitt by a landslide margin of 57% to 42%. This is the last time that an incumbent governor of Delaware lost re-election.
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| Turnout | 74.18% 1.1pp | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Thompson: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Howlett: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Illinois gubernatorial election was held inIllinois on November 2, 1976.[16]Incumbent first-termDemocraticgovernorDan Walker lost renomination toIllinois Secretary of StateMichael Howlett, who was an ally ofChicago mayorRichard J. Daley. Howlett then lost the general election to Republican nomineeJames R. Thompson. This election was the first of seven consecutive Republican gubernatorial victories in Illinois, a streak not broken until the election of DemocratRod Blagojevich in2002.This election is the most recent time an Illinois gubernatorial election was held concurrently with a Presidential election.
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 County results Bowen: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Conrad: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Indiana gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. IncumbentRepublicanGovernorOtis Bowen defeatedDemocratic nominee Larry A. Conrad with 56.85% of the vote.
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 County results Teasdale: 50–60% 60–70% Bond: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976 and resulted in a narrow victory for theDemocratic nominee,Joseph P. Teasdale, over theRepublican candidate, incumbentGovernorKit Bond, and two other candidates. Teasdale defeatedWilliam J. Cason andGeorge D. Weber for the Democratic nomination.
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| Turnout | 74.60%10.00[17] | |||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Judge: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Woodahl: 40–50% 50–60% Mahoney: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1976. IncumbentGovernor of MontanaThomas Lee Judge, who was first elected in1972, ran for re-election. He won theDemocratic primary unopposed, and moved on to the general election, where he was opposed by Bob Woodahl, theAttorney General of Montana and theRepublican nominee. Ultimately, Judge defeated Woodahl by a landslide to win his second and final term as governor.
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 County results Municipality resultsThomson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Spanos: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% No Data/Vote: | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. IncumbentRepublicanGovernorMeldrim Thomson Jr. defeatedDemocratic nominee Harry V. Spanos with 57.66% of the vote.
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 County results Hunt: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Flaherty: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976.Democratic nomineeJim Hunt defeatedRepublican nominee David T. Flaherty with 64.99% of the vote.
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 County results Link: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Elkin: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1976 North Dakota gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. IncumbentDemocratic governorArthur A. Link Ran for a second term againstRepublican Richard Elkin. Link won reelection defeating Elkin 52% to 47%.
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 County results Municipality resultsGarrahy: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Taft: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976.Democratic nomineeJ. Joseph Garrahy defeatedRepublican nomineeJames L. Taft Jr. with 54.82% of the vote.
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 County results Matheson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Romney: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976.Democratic candidateScott M. Matheson defeatedRepublican nomineeVernon B. Romney, who had defeatedDixie L. Leavitt for his party's nomination, with 52.02% of the vote.
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 County results Municipality resultsSnelling: 30-40% 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% Hackel: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1976. Incumbent DemocratThomas P. Salmon did not seek another term asGovernor of Vermont, instead running forUnited States Senate. Republican candidateRichard A. Snelling won the election, defeating Democratic candidateStella B. Hackel andLiberty Union candidateBernie Sanders.
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 County results Ray: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% Spellman: 40-50% 50-60% 60-70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1976. This election was especially significant in that Washington elected its first female governor,Dixy Lee Ray.Wesley C. Uhlman andJohn Patric unsuccessfully ran in the blanket primary.
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 County results Rockefeller: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Underwood: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1976 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1976, to elect thegovernor of West Virginia. DemocratJay Rockefeller, the nephew of the then currentVice President of the United States,Nelson Rockefeller, defeated RepublicanCecil Underwood.
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