1978 United States gubernatorial elections
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Governorships of AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, WI, WY, GU, and VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Democratic holds
Democratic pickups
Republican holds
Republican pickups | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The United States gubernatorial elections of 1978 were held on November 7, 1978, in thirty-six states. The Republicans had a net gain of six seats, Democrats sustained a net-loss of five seats, and there would be no Governors of any other parties following these elections.
This was the first year in which Illinois held a gubernatorial election in a midterm election year since 1846. The state of Illinois moved its gubernatorial election date from Presidential election years to midterm Congressional election years.
Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.
| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | George Wallace | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Fob James (Democratic) 72.6% H. Guy Hunt (Republican) 25.9% Jim Partain (Prohibition) 1.1% Richard Dare (Independent) 0.5% |
| Alaska | Jay Hammond | Republican | Re-elected, 39.1% | Walter Joseph Hickel (write-in) 26.4% Chancy Croft (Democratic) 20.2% Tom Kelly (Independent) 12.3% Don R. Wright (Alaskan Ind.) 1.9% |
| Arizona | Bruce Babbitt | Democratic | Re-elected, 52.5% | Evan Mecham (Republican) 44.8% V. Gene Lewter (Liberatarian) 1.9% Jessica Sampson (Socialist Workers) 0.8% |
| Arkansas | David Pryor | Democratic | Retired, Democratic victory | Bill Clinton (Democratic) 63.4% Lynn Lowe (Republican) 36.6% |
| California | Jerry Brown | Democratic | Re-elected, 56.0% | Evelle J. Younger (Republican) 36.5% Ed Clark (Independent) 5.5% Marilyn Seals (PF) 1.0% Theresa F. Dietrich (AI) 1.0% |
| Colorado | Richard Lamm | Democratic | Re-elected, 58.8% | Ted L. Strickland (Republican) 38.5% Roy Peister (Tea) 1.7% Elsa Blum (Socialist Workers) 0.4% Sal Mandor (Independent) 0.3% Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.3% |
| Connecticut | Ella T. Grasso | Democratic | Re-elected, 59.1% | Ronald A. Sarasin (Republican) 40.7% |
| Florida | Reubin O'Donovan Askew | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Bob Graham (Democratic) 55.6% Jack Eckerd (Republican) 44.4% |
| Georgia | George Busbee | Democratic | Re-elected, 80.7% | Rodney M. Cook (Republican) 19.3% |
| Hawaii | George Ariyoshi | Democratic | Re-elected, 54.5% | John R. Leopold (Republican) 44.3% Alema Leota (Non-partisan) 0.7% Gregory Reeser (Libertarian) 0.4% John Moore (Aloha Democratic) 0.2% |
| Idaho | John V. Evans | Democratic | Re-elected, 58.8% | Allan Larsen (Republican) 39.6% Wayne Loveless (American) 1.7% |
| Illinois | James R. Thompson | Republican | Re-elected, 59.0% | Michael Bakalis (Democratic) 40.1% Georgia Shields (Libertarian) 0.4% Cecil Lampkin (Socialist Workers) 0.4% Melvin Klenetsky (U.S. Labor) 0.2% |
| Iowa | Robert D. Ray | Republican | Re-elected, 58.3% | Jerome D. Fitzgerald (Democratic) 41.0% John Ball (Libertarian) 0.5% Joseph Grant (Socialist) 0.2% |
| Kansas | Robert F. Bennett | Republican | Defeated, 47.3% | John W. Carlin (Democratic) 49.4% Frank W. Shelton Jr. (American) 2.3% Berry Beets (Prohibition) 1.0% |
| Maine | James B. Longley | Independent | Retired, Democratic victory | Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic) 47.7% Linwood E. Palmer (Republican) 34.3% Herman Franklin (Independent) 17.8% James B. Longley (write-in) 0.2% |
| Maryland | Marvin Mandel (Blair Lee III, acting governor) |
Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory (Lee defeated in primary) | Harry Hughes (Democratic) 70.6% John Glenn Beall, Jr. (Republican) 29.4% |
| Massachusetts | Michael Dukakis | Democratic | Defeated in primary, Democratic victory | Edward J. King (Democratic) 52.5% Francis W. Hatch, Jr. (Republican) 47.2% |
| Michigan | William Milliken | Republican | Re-elected, 56.8% | William B. Fitzgerald, Jr. (Democratic) 43.2% |
| Minnesota | Rudy Perpich | DFL | Defeated, 45.3% | Al Quie (Republican) 52.3% Richard Pedersen (American) 1.3% Jill Lakowske (Socialist Workers) 0.4% Tom McDonald (Honest Government) 0.3% Robin E. Miller (Libertarian) 0.2% Edwin C. Pommerening (Savings Account) 0.1% |
| Nebraska | J. James Exon | Democratic | Term-limited, Republican victory | Charles Thone (Republican) 56.0% Gerald T. Whelan (Democratic) 44.0% |
| Nevada | Mike O'Callaghan | Democratic | Term-limited, Republican victory | Robert List (Republican) 56.2% Robert E. Rose (Democratic) 39.7% Thomas F. Jefferson (Ind. American) 1.7% None of These Candidates1.7% John W. Grayson Jr. (Libertarian) 0.8% |
| New Hampshire | Meldrim Thomson, Jr. | Republican | Defeated, 45.4% | Hugh Gallen (Democratic) 49.4% Wesley Powell (Independent) 4.6% Mabel Everett (Libertarian) 4.6% Ralph Brewster (Independent) 0.2% |
| New Mexico | Jerry Apodaca | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Bruce King (Democratic) 50.5% Joe Skeen (Republican) 49.4% |
| New York | Hugh Carey | Democratic | Re-elected, 50.9% | Perry Duryea (Republican) 45.2% Mary Jane Tobin (Right to Life) 2.7% Gary Greenberg (Libertarian) 0.4% Dianne M. Feeley (Socialist Workers) 0.3% Jarvis Tyner (Communist) 0.2% Paul Gallagher (U.S. Labor) 0.2% |
| Ohio | Jim Rhodes | Republican | Re-elected, 49.3% | Dick Celeste (Democratic) 47.6% Patricia H. Wright (Independent) 1.2% John O'Neill (Independent) 1.0% Allan Friedman (Independent) 0.8% |
| Oklahoma | David L. Boren | Democratic | Term-limited, Democratic victory | George Nigh (Democratic) 51.7% Ron Shotts (Republican) 47.2% Billy Joe Clegg (Independent) 0.5% Floyd Sheally (Independent) 0.3% Jim McCuiston (Independent) 0.2% |
| Oregon | Robert W. Straub | Democratic | Defeated, 45.1% | Victor G. Atiyeh (Republican) 54.9% |
| Pennsylvania | Milton Shapp | Democratic | Term-limited, Republican victory | Dick Thornburgh (Republican) 52.5% Peter F. Flaherty (Democratic) 46.4% Mark Zola (Socialist Workers) 0.5% Lee Frissell (Consumer) 0.5% |
| Rhode Island | John Garrahy | Democratic | Re-elected, 62.8% | Lincoln Almond (Republican) 30.7% Joseph A. Doorley (Independent) 6.5% |
| South Carolina | James B. Edwards | Republican | Term-limited, Democratic victory | Richard Riley (Democratic) 61.9% Edward Lunn Young (Republican) 38.1% |
| South Dakota | Harvey L. Wollman | Democratic | Defeated in primary, Republican victory | Bill Janklow (Republican) 56.6% Roger D. McKellips (Democratic) 43.4% |
| Tennessee | Ray Blanton | Democratic | Retired, Republican victory | Lamar Alexander (Republican) 55.8% Jake Butcher (Democratic) 44.2% |
| Texas | Dolph Briscoe | Democratic | Defeated in primary, Republican victory | Bill Clements (Republican) 50.0% John Hill (Democratic) 49.2% Mario Compean (La Raza Unida) 0.6% Sara Jean Johnston (Socialist Workers) 0.2% |
| Vermont | Richard A. Snelling | Republican | Re-elected, 62.8% | Edwin C. Granai (Democratic) 34.1% Earl S. Gardner (Liberty Union) 2.9% |
| Wisconsin | Martin J. Schreiber | Democratic | Defeated, 44.9% | Lee S. Dreyfus (Republican) 54.4% Eugene R. Zimmerman (Constitution) 0.4% John C. Doherty (Independent) 0.1% Adrienne Kaplan (Socialist Workers) 0.1% Henry A. Ochsner (Socialist Labor) 0.1% |
| Wyoming | Edgar Herschler | Democratic | Re-elected, 50.9% | John C. Ostlund (Republican) 49.1% |