# 1996 United States gubernatorial elections

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.

## Election results
### States

| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Delaware | Tom Carper | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Tom Carper (Democratic) 69.5% Janet Rzewnicki (Republican) 30.5% |
| Indiana | Evan Bayh | Democratic | 1988 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Frank O'Bannon (Democratic) 51.5% Stephen Goldsmith (Republican) 46.8% Steve Dillon (Libertarian) 1.7% |
| Missouri | Mel Carnahan | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Mel Carnahan (Democratic) 57.2% Margaret B. Kelly (Republican) 40.4% J. Mark Oglesby (Libertarian) 2.4% |
| Montana | Marc Racicot | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Marc Racicot (Republican) 79.2% Judy Jacobson (Democratic) 20.8% |
| New Hampshire | Steve Merrill | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Jeanne Shaheen (Democratic) 57.2% Ovide Lamontagne (Republican) 39.5% |
| North Carolina | Jim Hunt | Democratic | 1976 1984 (term-limited) 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Jim Hunt (Democratic) 56.0% Robin Hayes (Republican) 42.8% |
| North Dakota | Ed Schafer | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Ed Schafer (Republican) 66.2% Lee Kaldor (Democratic) 33.8% |
| Utah | Mike Leavitt | Republican | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Mike Leavitt (Republican) 75.0% Jim Bradley (Democratic) 23.3% |
| Vermont | Howard Dean | Democratic | 1991 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Howard Dean (Democratic) 70.5% John L. Gropper (Republican) 22.5% Mary Alice Herbert (Liberty Union) 1.6% Dennis Lane (Grassroots) 1.4% Bill Brunelle (Natural Law) 1.3% August St. John (Independent) 1.3% Neil Randall (Libertarian) 1.2% |
| Washington | Mike Lowry | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Gary Locke (Democratic) 58.0% Ellen Craswell (Republican) 42.0% |
| West Virginia | Gaston Caperton | Democratic | 1988 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Cecil Underwood (Republican) 51.6% Charlotte Pritt (Democratic) 45.8% Wallace Johnson (Libertarian) 2.6% |

### Territories

| Territory | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| American Samoa | A. P. Lutali | Democratic | 1992 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Tauese Sunia (Democratic) 51.0% L. Peter Reid (Independent) 49.0% |
| Puerto Rico | Pedro Rosselló | New Progressive | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Pedro Rosselló (PNP) 51.4% Héctor Luis Acevedo (PPD) 44.7% David Noriega Rodríguez (PIP) 3.8% |

## 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%