Results in the Governors’ & Statehouse Races

While the Presidential election remains up in the air, the eleven state gubernatorial and 5,918 state legislative races produced more definitive results. Here is a brief summary.



Governors

Overall, Democratic candidates won eight governorships, a net gain of one. Republicans took three. Incumbents held their positions in Indiana (Frank O’Bannon - D), New Hampshire (Jeanne Shaheen - D), Utah (Michael Leavitt -R), Vermont (Howard Dean - D), and Washington (Gary Locke - D).

New Democratic governors include Ruth Ann Minner in Delaware, Bob Holden in Missouri, Mike Easley in North Carolina, and Bob Wise, who upset Governor Cecil Underwood in West Virginia. The two new Republican governors are Judy Martz in Montana and John Hoeven in North Dakota.

Governorships were also decided in American Samoa and Puerto Rico. Sila Calderon, candidate of the Popular Democratic Party and current Mayor of San Juan, becomes the first woman governor of Puerto Rico. Democrat Tauese P.F. Sunia narrowly won re-election in American Samoa.

State Legislatures

Preliminary results from Tuesday’s election indicate Democrats and Republicans will each control 16 legislatures and 15 will be split between the parties. Washington and Oregon were still undecided at press time. Nebraska’s unicameral legislature is nonpartisan. Prior to the election, Democrats controlled 19 legislatures, Republicans held 17, and 13 others were split. In many states, the margin between the parties decreased.

The website of the National Conference of State Legislatures reports, “Even where parties made political gains in state legislatures, they were offset by losses. For the first time in 40 years, Democrats have taken control of the Colorado Senate. Democrats also earned a tie in the Arizona Senate, where members must work with a 15-15 party split. Republicans wrested control of the Vermont House from the Democrats and earned a tie in the South Carolina and Maine Senate chambers. In South Carolina, it is the first time since Reconstruction that Democrats have not been the chamber's majority party. The Pennsylvania House entered the evening with a tied chamber, but Republicans have regained control.

“In Missouri, the Senate officially stands at a 17-17 tie. However, three incumbent senators -- two Democrats and a Republican -- ran successfully for higher office, creating a virtual 16-15 Republican majority when the chamber meets in January.”