United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 1996, in 11 states and two territories. Going into the elections, seven of the seats were held by Democrats and four by Republicans. Democrats picked up the open seat in New Hampshire, and Republicans picked up the open seat in West Virginia, for no net change in the partisan balance of power. These elections coincided with the presidential election.
Closest races
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
- American Samoa, 2.0%
- Indiana, 4.7%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- West Virginia, 5.8%
- Puerto Rico, 6.7%
Delaware
The 1996 Delaware gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996, to elect the governor of the state of Delaware. Incumbent governor Thomas Carper, the Democratic nominee, was re-elected to his second and final term in a landslide over Republican nominee and Delaware State Treasurer Janet Rzewnicki. Both were unopposed in their respective primaries. Tom Carper became the first Democratic governor in state history to win 2 consecutive terms.
Indiana
The 1996 Indiana gubernatorial Election was held on November 5, 1996, alongside the election of both houses of the Indiana General Assembly. Incumbent Governor Evan Bayh, a Democrat, was ineligible to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits established by the Indiana Constitution. He was succeeded by Lt. Governor Frank O'Bannon, who won election over Republican Stephen Goldsmith with 52% of the vote.
Missouri
The 1996 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996, and resulted in a victory for the Democratic nominee, incumbent Governor Mel Carnahan, over the Republican candidate, State Auditor Margaret B. Kelly, and Libertarian J. Mark Oglesby.
Governor Carnahan died in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, near the end of this term, and was replaced by Lt. Governor Roger B. Wilson.
Montana
The 1996 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Governor of Montana Marc Racicot, who was first elected in 1992, ran for re-election. After winning the Republican primary against a conservative activist, he moved on to the general election, where he was set to face Chet Blaylock, a former State Senator and the Democratic nominee. However, on October 23, 1996, Blaylock died of a heart attack, and the Montana Democratic Party selected his running mate, State Senator Judy Jacobson, to replace him, and she therefore became both the gubernatorial nominee and the lieutenant gubernatorial nominee. Ultimately, Racicot defeated Jacobson in a landslide to win re-election to his second and final term as governor.
As of 2026, this is the last time that the winning gubernatorial nominee carried all counties in Montana. This election was the first time since 1956 and the last until 2024 when an incumbent Republican Governor of Montana was re-elected.
New Hampshire
The 1996 New Hampshire gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. State Senator Jeanne Shaheen won the election, marking the first time since 1980 that a Democrat was elected Governor of New Hampshire. She defeated Ovide Lamontagne, who had defeated representative Bill Zeliff for the Republican nomination.
North Carolina
The 1996 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on 5 November 1996. The general election was fought between the Democratic nominee, incumbent Governor James "Jim" Hunt and the Republican nominee, state representative Robin Hayes. Hunt won by 339,585 votes, winning his fourth term as governor.
North Dakota
The 1996 North Dakota gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Republican Ed Schafer won re-election to a second term as Governor of North Dakota, defeating Democratic-NPL nominee Lee Kaldor. Schafer became the first Republican to win reelection as governor in the state since John E. Davis in 1958, and the first Republican to ever win more than four years in the office.
Utah
The 1996 Utah gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Republican nominee and incumbent Governor Michael Leavitt won the election.
Vermont
The 1996 Vermont gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democrat Howard Dean ran successfully for re-election to a third full term as Governor of Vermont, defeating Republican nominee John L. Gropper.
Washington
The 1996 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. Though eligible for a second term, incumbent governor Mike Lowry chose not to run for reelection following a series of personal and public scandals, including allegations of sexual harassment. This gubernatorial race was especially significant in that it resulted in the first Asian American governor in the mainland United States (after George Ariyoshi of island state Hawaii), Democrat Gary Locke.
West Virginia
The 1996 West Virginia gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1996 to elect the Governor of West Virginia. Republican Cecil Underwood, who had previously been the Governor of West Virginia from 1957 to 1961, defeated Democratic State Senator Charlotte Pritt. Concurrently, the state voted the opposite way federally, choosing Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee, incumbent Bill Clinton over Republican nominee Bob Dole in the Presidential election that year.