Election
elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1982, in 36 states and two territories. The Democratic party had a net gain of seven seats. This election coincided with the Senate and the House elections. As of 2026, this remains the last election cycle in which a Republican won the governorship of Oregon.
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Text from the Wikipedia article “1982 United States gubernatorial elections”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1982, in 36 states and two territories. The Democratic party had a net gain of seven seats. This election coincided with the Senate and the House elections. As of 2026, this remains the last election cycle in which a Republican won the governorship of Oregon.
States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
The 1982 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the governor of Alabama. Incumbent Democrat Fob James declined to run for re-election; he later successfully ran again in 1994 as a Republican. The open seat election saw former Democratic governor George Wallace, who narrowly won the Democratic primary, defeat Republican Emory Folmar, the Mayor of Montgomery, Alabama.
The 1982 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982, for the post of Governor of Alaska. To replace outgoing Republican governor Jay Hammond, Democratic nominee Bill Sheffield defeated three opponents: Republican nominee Tom Fink, Libertarian nominee Dick Randolph and Alaskan Independence Party nominee Joe Vogler. Hammond had endorsed his lieutenant governor, Terry Miller, who lost the Republican nomination to Fink in the primary election, as did Don Wright. Sheffield defeated Steve Cowper and former Lieutenant Governor H. A. Boucher for the Democratic nomination.
The 1982 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Democratic incumbent Bruce Babbitt defeated Republican nominee Leo Corbet and Libertarian candidate and former U.S. Representative Sam Steiger. Evan Mecham unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination. This was the last time until 2002 that a Democrat was elected governor of Arizona, and the last time a male Democrat was elected governor.
The 1982 Arkansas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Former Democratic governor Bill Clinton regained the position after having narrowly been defeated by Republican candidate Frank D. White at the previous election. Clinton held the position from January 1983 until he resigned after being elected president in 1992. As of 2026, this is the last time that an incumbent governor of Arkansas lost re-election.
The 1982 California gubernatorial election occurred on November 2, 1982. The Republican nominee, Attorney General George Deukmejian, narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. Incumbent Governor Jerry Brown did not seek reelection to a third consecutive term; he later successfully ran again in 2010 and 2014.
The 1982 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democrat Richard Lamm defeated Republican nominee John Fuhr with 65.69% of the vote.
The 1982 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic governor Bill O'Neill had assumed the governor's office in 1980 after Ella Grasso resigned due to poor health. Grasso died just weeks later on February 5, 1981. Governor O'Neill defeated former Connecticut state senator Lewis Rome for his first full term in the governor's office.
The 1982 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic governor Bob Graham was re-elected in a landslide, defeating Republican nominee Skip Bafalis with 64.70% of the vote.
The 1982 Georgia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Joe Frank Harris was elected as the 78th Governor of Georgia.
The 1982 Hawaii gubernatorial election was Hawaii's seventh gubernatorial election. The election was held on November 2, 1982, and resulted in a victory for the Democratic candidate, governor George Ariyoshi, over Frank Fasi, running as an Independent Democrat, and the Republican candidate, state senator D. G. Anderson. Ariyoshi received more votes than any other candidate in every county in the state.
The 1982 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 2. Incumbent Democrat John V. Evans narrowly defeated Republican nominee Phil Batt with 50.64% of the vote, the fourth of six consecutive wins for the Democratic party.
The 1982 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican governor James R. Thompson won a third term in office, defeating the Democratic nominee, former United States Senator Adlai Stevenson III, by a slim margin of 5,074 votes.
The 1982 Iowa gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Republican nominee Terry Branstad defeated Democratic nominee Roxanne Conlin with 52.81% of the vote.
The 1982 Kansas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democrat John W. Carlin defeated Republican nominee Sam Hardage with 53.2% of the vote.
The 1982 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic Governor Joseph Brennan defeated Republican challenger Charles R. Cragin. Brennan defeated Cragin, winning his re-election by the highest percent margin in more than thirty years.
The 1982 Maryland gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democrat Harry Hughes defeated Republican nominee Robert A. Pascal with 61.97% of the vote.
The 1982 Massachusetts gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Michael Dukakis was elected to a second non-consecutive term. He beat Republican John W. Sears in the general election, after defeating incumbent Governor Edward J. King in the Democratic primary.
The 1982 Michigan gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Governor William Milliken decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth full term as governor. The primary elections occurred on August 10, 1982. Businessman Richard Headlee narrowly defeated incumbent lieutenant governor James Brickley in a four way race on the Republican side. Congressman James Blanchard defeated Michigan Senate Majority Leader William B. Fitzgerald Jr. by a wide margin a fractured seven way race. Blanchard won the general election by a relatively comfortable 6.31% margin. Blanchard became the first Democrat to win the governor’s mansion in Michigan in 22 years.
The 1982 Minnesota gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party candidate Rudy Perpich defeated Independent-Republican Party challenger Wheelock Whitney, Jr. Warren Spannaus unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination, while Lou Wangberg and Harold Stassen unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination. Perpich became the first candidate to receive over a million votes in a gubernatorial election in Minnesota.
The 1982 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, and featured businessman Bob Kerrey, a Democrat, narrowly defeating incumbent Republican governor Charles Thone.
The 1982 Nevada gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982 to elect the Governor of Nevada. Incumbent Republican Robert List ran unsuccessfully for re-election to a second term. He lost to Democratic nominee Richard Bryan by 11.7%.
The 1982 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic governor Hugh Gallen ran for re-election but was defeated by Tufts University professor John Sununu. Sununu, who defeated Lou D'Allesandro for the Republican nomination, became the first Arab-American governor of New Hampshire. Gallen died just over a week before Sununu's inauguration.
The 1982 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982 to elect the governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democrat Bruce King was ineligible to seek a second consecutive (and third overall) term as governor. Democrat Toney Anaya defeated Republican state senator John B. Irick by about five points. Anaya was the first Democrat to carry Harding County in a gubernatorial election since Thomas J. Mabry in 1946.
The 1982 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic Governor Hugh Carey chose not to run for a third term, which resulted in an open race. Democratic nominee Mario Cuomo, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, narrowly defeated Republican Lewis Lehrman, a banker who ran as a conservative.
The 1982 Ohio gubernatorial election was held in Ohio on November 2, 1982. Dick Celeste of the Democratic Party was elected with 59% of the vote.
The 1982 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Democrat George Nigh won re-election by a substantial majority over the Republican, former State Auditor and Inspector Tom Daxon.
The 1982 Oregon gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican Governor Victor Atiyeh won re-election to a second term in a landslide, defeating Democratic state senator Ted Kulongoski and carrying every county in the state.
The 1982 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, between incumbent Republican Dick Thornburgh and Democratic U.S. Congressman Allen E. Ertel. Thornburgh was a popular incumbent, who largely was the favorite throughout the race. However, owing to a nationwide recession which hit the state particularly hard, and a backlash to Reaganomics, the final result ended up becoming much closer than what was initially anticipated.
The 1982 Rhode Island gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democrat J. Joseph Garrahy defeated Republican nominee Vincent Marzullo with 73.30% of the vote.
The 1982 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982 to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. The state constitution was amended by the voters on November 4, 1980 to allow for the governor to serve a second consecutive four-year term. Governor Richard Riley, the popular Democratic incumbent, easily defeated Republican W. D. Workman, Jr. and became the first governor since Thomas Gordon McLeod in 1924 to be elected to a second consecutive term.
The 1982 South Dakota gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1982, to elect a Governor of South Dakota. Republican candidate Bill Janklow was elected, defeating Democratic nominee Mike O'Connor to take a second term in office.
The 1982 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the governor of Tennessee. Incumbent Republican governor Lamar Alexander was now qualified to run for re-election because of Tennessee's 1978 constitutional amendment allowing governors to serve a second consecutive four-year term. Alexander ran for re-election and defeated Democratic nominee Randy Tyree with 59.6% of the vote in the general election.
Alexander was the first Republican to be re-elected governor since 1912.
The 1982 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the governor of Texas. Incumbent Republican governor Bill Clements ran for reelection, but was defeated in the general election by Democrat Mark White, winning 46% of the vote to White's 53%. White was sworn into office on January 18, 1983.
The 1982 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Republican Richard A. Snelling ran successfully for a fourth term as Governor of Vermont, defeating Democratic candidate Madeleine Kunin.
The 1982 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Democrat Anthony S. Earl won the election with 56.75% of the vote, defeating Republican Terry J. Kohler.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1982 United States gubernatorial elections”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.