# 1986 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 1986, in 36 states and two territories. The Democrats had a net loss of eight seats during this election, which coincided with the Senate and the House elections. This was despite the Democratic trend on a federal level, making this the last midterm election until 2022 where the party of the incumbent president achieved a net gain of governorships.

## Election results
### States

| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Alabama | George Wallace | Democratic | 1962 1966 (term-limited) 1970 1978 (term-limited) 1982 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y H. Guy Hunt (Republican) 56.4% Bill Baxley (Democratic) 43.6% |
| Alaska | Bill Sheffield | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent lost re-nomination. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Steve Cowper (Democratic) 47.3% Arliss Sturgulewski (Republican) 42.6% Joe Vogler (Alaskan Ind.) 5.6% Wally Hickel (write-in) 2.8% Mary Jane O'Brannon (Libertarian) 0.6% |
| Arizona | Bruce Babbitt | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Evan Mecham (Republican) 39.7% Carolyn Warner (Democratic) 34.5% Bill Schulz (Independent) 25.8% |
| Arkansas | Bill Clinton | Democratic | 1978 1980 (defeated) 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 63.9% Frank D. White (Republican) 36.1% |
| California | George Deukmejian | Republican | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y George Deukmejian (Republican) 60.2% Tom Bradley (Democratic) 37.2% Maria Elizabeth Muñoz (PF) 1.3% Joseph Fuhrig (Libertarian) 0.7%< Gary V. Miller (American Ind.) 0.7% |
| Colorado | Richard Lamm | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Roy Romer (Democratic) 58.2% Ted Strickland (Republican) 41.0% Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.8% |
| Connecticut | William A. O'Neill | Democratic | 1980 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y William A. O'Neill (Democratic) 58.5% Julie Belaga (Republican) 41.5% |
| Florida | Bob Graham | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Bob Martinez (Republican) 54.6% Steve Pajcic (Democratic) 45.4% |
| Georgia | Joe Frank Harris | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) 70.5% Guy Davis (Republican) 29.5% |
| Hawaii | George Ariyoshi | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y John D. Waiheʻe III (Democratic) 52.0% D. G. Anderson (Republican) 48.0% |
| Idaho | John Evans | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Cecil Andrus (Democratic) 50.5% David H. Leroy (Republican) 49.5% |
| Illinois | James R. Thompson | Republican | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected | Y James R. Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Adlai Stevenson III (Solidarity) 40.0% No candidate (Democratic) 6.6% Gary L. Shilts (Libertarian) 0.5% |
| Iowa | Terry Branstad | Republican | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected | Y Terry Branstad (Republican) 51.9% Lowell Junkins (Democratic) 48.0% |
| Kansas | John W. Carlin | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Mike Hayden (Republican) 51.9% Thomas R. Docking (Democratic) 48.1% |
| Maine | Joseph E. Brennan | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y John R. McKernan Jr. (Republican) 39.9% James Tierney (Democratic) 30.2% Sherry Huber (Independent) 15.1% John Menario (Independent) 14.9% |
| Maryland | Harry Hughes | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y William Donald Schaefer (Democratic) 82.4% Thomas J. Mooney (Republican) 17.6% |
| Massachusetts | Michael Dukakis | Democratic | 1974 1978 (lost renomination) 1982 | Incumbent re-elected | Y Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 68.8% George Kariotis (Republican) 31.2% |
| Michigan | James Blanchard | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected | Y James Blanchard (Democratic) 68.1% William Lucas (Republican) 31.5% |
| Minnesota | Rudy Perpich | Democratic | 1976 1978 (defeated) 1982 | Incumbent re-elected | Y Rudy Perpich (Democratic) 56.1% Cal Ludeman (Republican) 43.1% |
| Nebraska | Bob Kerrey | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Kay A. Orr (Republican) 52.9% Helen Boosalis (Democratic) 47.1% |
| Nevada | Richard Bryan | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Richard Bryan (Democratic) 71.9% Patricia Dillon Cafferata (Republican) 25.0% None of These Candidates 2.1% Louis R. Tomburello (Libertarian) 1.0% |
| New Hampshire | John H. Sununu | Republican | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y John H. Sununu (Republican) 53.7% Paul McEachern (Democratic) 46.3% |
| New Mexico | Toney Anaya | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Garrey Carruthers (Republican) 53.0% Ray Powell (Democratic) 47.0% |
| New York | Mario Cuomo | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Mario Cuomo (Democratic) 64.3% Andrew P. O'Rourke (Republican) 31.8% Denis Dillon (Right to Life) 3.1% Lenora Fulani (New Alliance) 0.6% |
| Ohio | Dick Celeste | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Dick Celeste (Democratic) 60.6% Jim Rhodes (Republican) 39.4% |
| Oklahoma | George Nigh | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Henry Bellmon (Republican) 48.1% David Walters (Democratic) 45.2% Jerry Brown (Independent) 6.7% |
| Oregon | Victor Atiyeh | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Neil Goldschmidt (Democratic) 52.0% Norma Paulus (Republican) 48.0% |
| Pennsylvania | Dick Thornburgh | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Bob Casey Sr. (Democratic) 50.7% William Scranton III (Republican) 48.4% Heidi Hoover (Consumer) 1.0% |
| Rhode Island | Edward D. DiPrete | Republican | 1984 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 64.7% Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) 32.4% Robert Healey (Cool Moose) 1.9% Tony Affigne (Citizens) 1.1% |
| South Carolina | Richard Riley | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Carroll A. Campbell Jr. (Republican) 51.0% Michael R. Daniel (Democratic) 47.9% William H. Griffin (Libertarian) 0.6% |
| South Dakota | Bill Janklow | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican hold. | Y George S. Mickelson (Republican) 51.8% Lars Herseth (Democratic) 48.2% |
| Tennessee | Lamar Alexander | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Ned McWherter (Democratic) 54.3% Winfield Dunn (Republican) 45.7% |
| Texas | Mark White | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Bill Clements (Republican) 52.7% Mark White (Democratic) 46.0% Theresa S. Doyle (Libertarian) 1.2% |
| Vermont | Madeleine Kunin | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 47.0% Peter Plympton Smith (Republican) 38.3% Bernie Sanders (Independent) 14.5% |
| Wisconsin | Tony Earl | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Tommy Thompson (Republican) 52.7% Tony Earl (Democratic) 46.2% Kathryn Christenson (Labor and Farm) 0.7% |
| Wyoming | Edward Herschler | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Mike Sullivan (Democratic) 54.0% Pete Simpson (Republican) 46.0% |

### Territories and federal district

| Territory | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| District of Columbia | Marion Barry | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Marion Barry (Democratic) 61.4% Carol Schwartz (Republican) 32.8% Brian Moore (Independent) 2.7% Josephine D. Butler (Statehood Green) 1.7% |
| Guam | Ricardo Bordallo | Democratic | 1982 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y Joseph Franklin Ada (Republican) 53.8% Ricardo Bordallo (Democratic) 46.2% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Juan Francisco Luis | Independent | 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Alexander Farrelly (Democratic) 65.4% Adelbert Bryan (ICM) 34.6% |

## Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
* Idaho, 1.0%
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
* Pennsylvania, 2.3%
* Oklahoma, 2.9%
* South Carolina, 3.1%
* South Dakota, 3.6%
* Iowa, 3.9%
* Hawaii, 4.0%
* Oregon, 4.0%
* Alaska, 4.7%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
* Arizona, 5.2%
* Nebraska, 5.8%
* New Mexico, 6.0%
* Wisconsin, 6.5%
* Texas, 6.7%
* New Hampshire, 7.4%
* Guam, 7.6%
* Wyoming, 8.0%
* Tennessee, 8.6%
* Vermont, 8.7%
* Florida, 9.2%
* Maine, 9.7%