United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 2010, in 37 states (with a special election in Utah) and two territories. These elections coincided with the elections for the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives as well as other state and local elections. As in most midterm elections, the party controlling the White House lost ground. Democrats took five governorships from the Republicans, while Republicans took 11 governorships from the Democrats. An independent won one governorship previously held by a Republican, while a Republican won one governorship previously held by an independent. Republicans held a majority of governorships for the first time since before the 2006 elections. One state, Louisiana, had no election for governor, but it did feature a special election for lieutenant governor.
Most gains from both parties were made in races where no incumbent was running, either due to term limits or voluntary retirement. However, Republicans did defeat incumbent Democrats Ted Strickland of Ohio and Chet Culver of Iowa, and held Nevada, where Republican Jim Gibbons lost in the primary.
As of 2026, this is the last time Democrats have won an Arkansas gubernatorial race and the only time since 1998 that Republicans won a Pennsylvania gubernatorial race. This is also the last time a third-party candidate won in Rhode Island.
Republicans held a majority of governorships in every election until 2026.
Closest races
States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
- Minnesota, 0.4%
- Connecticut, 0.7%
- Illinois, 0.9%
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
- Oregon, 1.1%
- Florida, 1.2%
- Guam, 1.2%
- Maine, 1.8%
- Vermont, 1.8%
- Ohio, 2.0%
- Rhode Island, 2.5%
- South Carolina, 4.3%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- Wisconsin, 5.7%
- Massachusetts, 6.3%
- New Mexico, 7.2%
- New Hampshire, 7.5%
- Pennsylvania, 9.0%
- Iowa, 9.7%
- Georgia, 9.8%
Red denotes states won by Republicans. Blue denotes states won by Democrats. Grey denotes states won by Independents.
Alabama
Governor Bob Riley was term-limited in 2010.
Businessman and 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary candidate Timothy James, State Representative Robert Bentley, Chancellor Bradley Byrne, and former state Supreme Court chief justice Roy Moore, were all major contenders for the Republican nomination. In the June 1 primary, Byrne finished in first place with 28.9%, followed by Robert J. Bentley who won 25.2% of the vote. Due to state law, the two were forced into a July runoff election, in which Bentley defeated Byrne by a margin of 56.1 to 43.9% to win the Republican nomination.
For the Democratic side, State Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks easily defeated Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama's 7th congressional district in the June 1 primary.
In the general election, Bentley defeated Sparks.
Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin was elected in 2006 with 48% of the vote and was eligible to seek reelection in 2010. On July 3, 2009, Palin announced that she would not run for reelection, and resigned on July 26, 2009. On July 26, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell became the 12th Governor of Alaska. Parnell officially announced that he would be running for a first full-term in 2010. In August 2010 he won the Republican nomination for governor.
Parnell faced former State Representative and 2008 congressional nominee Ethan Berkowitz, and won the Democratic nomination against State Senator Hollis French, in the November election. Parnell won a first full-term.
Arizona
Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate as Secretary of Homeland Security in early 2009. Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer was first in the state's gubernatorial line of succession and became governor upon Napolitano's subsequent resignation. Brewer was seeking a full term in 2010. She would face a primary challenge from former state Senator Karen Johnson, Tucson attorney John Munger, and State Treasurer Dean Martin.
The announced Democratic candidate was Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. A potential Democratic candidate could have been Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon.
Jan Brewer won the Republican primary election, and Terry Goddard won the Democratic primary election. Brewer defeated Goddard in the election.
Arkansas
Governor Mike Beebe sought a second term in 2010. He was elected with 55% of the vote in 2006. In March 2009 Beebe's approval rating was 68%, according to Public Policy Polling.
Jim Keet, a former State Senator, was the Republican nominee.
Beebe defeated Keet in a landslide election.
California
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was term-limited in 2010.
Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman was the Republican nominee for the Gubernatorial election, defeating state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in the California Republican Party primary.
Former Governor and current Attorney General Jerry Brown was the Democratic nominee.
Brown defeated Whitman in the general election.
Colorado
Governor Bill Ritter declined to run for re-election. He had been elected with 57% of the vote in 2006. Following Ritter's announcement, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced his candidacy. Hickenlooper faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.
Businessman Dan Maes became the Republican nominee by winning the August 10 primary election.
Former Congressman Tom Tancredo ran under the banner of the American Constitution Party.
In the general, Hickenlooper decisively defeated Tancredo and Maes. Maes won only 11.6% of the vote, nearly reducing the Republican Party to minor-party status in Colorado.
Connecticut
On November 9, 2009, incumbent Governor Jodi Rell announced she would not seek a second full term in 2010. She was elected to a full term in 2006 with 63% of the vote.
The Republican nomination was won by former United States Ambassador to Ireland Thomas C. Foley, who defeated Lt. Governor Michael Fedele.
The Democratic nominee was Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who defeated businessman and 2006 Democratic Senatorial nominee Ned Lamont.
Florida
First-term Governor Charlie Crist was eligible to seek re-election, but decided instead to run for the United States Senate seat held by George LeMieux. After a tough primary challenge the Republican Party chose businessman Rick Scott over Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. The Democratic Party nominated Florida CFO Alex Sink.
Crist was elected as a Republican, but left the party and became an independent during his Senate campaign.
Scott defeated Sink in the election.
Georgia
Governor Sonny Perdue was term-limited in 2010.
On the Republican side, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, and former Congressman Nathan Deal faced each other in a runoff, defeating other candidates including state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine in the July 20 primary. Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle had established an exploratory committee in September 2008, but dropped out of the race on April 15, 2009, because of health problems.
On the Democratic side, former Governor Roy Barnes, whom Perdue unseated in 2002, won the July 20 primary against former state Secretary of State David Poythress, state Attorney General Thurbert Baker, and state House Minority Leader DuBose Porter.
The Libertarian Party fielded as its candidate John Monds, who served as president of the Grady County NAACP and was the first Libertarian candidate in U.S. history to receive more than one million votes, when he ran for the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2008.
Hawaii
Governor Linda Lingle was term-limited in 2010.
Republican Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona ran.
Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie announced that he would run. Another possible Democratic candidate was Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann.
Idaho
Governor Butch Otter sought a second term in 2010. A former state legislator, lieutenant governor and Congressman, Otter was elected in 2006 with 52 percent of the vote but struggled to implement many of his policies despite an overwhelmingly Republican Idaho Legislature. In May 2010 Otter brushed aside primary challenges from Ada County commissioner Sharon Ullman and conservative activist Rex Rammell, who ran for U.S. Senate in 2008 as an independent.
Democratic primary candidates included activist and mediator Keith G. Allred, and Franklin County laborer Lon Chaney, who unsuccessfully contested the Democratic nomination in 2006. Allred easily defeated Chaney for the Democratic nomination.
Former Republican state representative Jana Kemp was an announced independent candidate.
Otter won re-election.
Illinois
Governor Pat Quinn sought a full term in 2010.
On January 29, 2009, by succession, Quinn became governor when Governor Rod Blagojevich was impeached, convicted and removed from office by the Illinois State Senate. Quinn was challenged for the Democratic nomination by State Comptroller Dan Hynes. On February 2, Quinn defeated Hynes by a narrow margin in a 50–50 split in the statewide primary. Despite trailing by only a few thousand votes, Hynes declined a recount and conceded the election to Quinn.
The six-man Republican primary wasn't decided until March 5, 2010, when the final tally was announced. Only 193 votes (two-thousandths of one-percent) separated State Senator Bill Brady and former gubernatorial Chief of Staff Kirk Dillard, out of more than 750,000 votes. Dillard said he would not challenge the results for financial and political reasons. Political experts ABC talked with said, "unless Dillard had evidence of specific miscounting or fraud, it's not worth asking for a recount. And it's certainly better for party unity."
Quinn defeated Brady in the election.
Iowa
Governor Chet Culver sought a second term in 2010. He was elected with 54% of the vote in 2006.
Former Governor Terry Branstad, whose four terms in the governor's mansion made him the longest-serving governor in Iowa history, formed an exploratory committee for the race. Republican Congressman Steve King was the subject of some early speculation but announced that he would run for re-election to the House in August 2009. Businessman Bob Vander Plaats, who was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2006, ran and was considered an early front-runner in the Republican primary. Other Republicans seeking their party's nomination included State Representatives Christopher Rants and businessman Christian Fong. Branstad was the favorite for Republican nomination, and led incumbent Democratic Governor Chet Culver in aggregate polling.
Branstad defeated then-sitting Governor Culver in the election.
Kansas
Governor Kathleen Sebelius was term-limited in 2010. President Barack Obama nominated Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mark Parkinson, her replacement, did not seek a full term, and Republican Senator Sam Brownback defeated Democratic state Senator Tom Holland in the general election.
Maine
Governor John Baldacci was term-limited in 2010.
At the gubernatorial primary election on June 8, Maine Democrats chose State Senator Elizabeth "Libby" Mitchell as their nominee, while Waterville Mayor Paul LePage was chosen by the Republicans.
Three independent candidates were on the November 2 ballot: Eliot Cutler, lawyer, former staff member for U.S. Senator Edmund Muskie, and former adviser to President Jimmy Carter; Shawn Moody, business owner; and Kevin Scott, business owner.
The Maine Green Independent Party did not have a candidate on the ballot this year.
With 94% of precincts reporting on the day after the general election, the Bangor Daily News declared LePage the winner, carrying 38.1% of the votes. Cutler was in second place with 36.7% of the votes (less than 7,500 votes behind LePage), while Mitchell was a distant third with 19%. Moody and Scott had 5% and 1%, respectively.
Maryland
Governor Martin O'Malley sought a second term in 2010. He was elected with 53% of the vote in 2006.
Former Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich on March 30, 2010, announced that he would run. In the last election, in 2006, O'Malley narrowly defeated Ehrlich, who ran as an incumbent.
In the primary, Ehrlich faced business owner Brian Murphy.
O'Malley defeated former Governor Ehrlich in the election.
Massachusetts
Incumbent first-term Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, sought re-election. He was elected with 56% of the vote in 2006.
Charlie Baker was the Republican candidate, while Jill Stein was the candidate of the Green-Rainbow Party.
Tim Cahill, Treasurer of Massachusetts, ran as an independent. If Cahill had been elected, he would have been the first independent candidate to win statewide in the Commonwealth.
Patrick defeated Baker, Stein, and Cahill in the election.
Michigan
Governor Jennifer Granholm was term-limited in 2010.
The party primaries on August 3 had five Republicans and two Democrats on the ballot.
On the Republican side, businessman Rick Snyder defeated Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, Michigan State Senator Tom George and U.S. Representative Peter Hoekstra for the GOP nomination.
On the Democratic side, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero easily defeated state House Speaker Andy Dillon for the party nomination.
In the general election Rick Snyder defeated Virg Bernero in a landslide.
Minnesota
Governor Tim Pawlenty would have been eligible to seek a third term in 2010, but decided not to run. He won re-election by 1% in 2006, with 46.7% of the vote.