# 1982 United States gubernatorial 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 2025, this remains the last election cycle in which a Republican won the governorship of Oregon.

## Election results
### States

| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates |
| Alabama | Fob James | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y George Wallace (Democratic) 57.6% Emory Folmar (Republican) 39.1% Leo Suiter (Alabama Conservative) 1.6% Henry Klingler (Libertarian) 0.7% John Jackson (Alabama Nat'l Democrat) 0.4% John Dyer (Prohibition) 0.4% Martin J. Boyers (Socialist Workers) 0.2% |
| Alaska | Jay Hammond | Republican | 1974 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Bill Sheffield (Democratic) 46.1% Tom Fink (Republican) 37.1% Dick Randolph (Libertarian) 14.9% Joe Vogler (Alaskan Ind.) 1.7% |
| Arizona | Bruce Babbitt | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Bruce Babbitt (Democratic) 62.5% Leo Corbet (Republican) 32.5% Sam Steiger (Libertarian) 5.0% |
| Arkansas | Frank D. White | Republican | 1980 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Bill Clinton (Democratic) 54.7% Frank D. White (Republican) 45.3% |
| California | Jerry Brown | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y George Deukmejian (R) 49.3% Tom Bradley (D) 48.1% Don P. Dougherty (L) 1.0% Elizabeth Martinez (PF) 0.9% James C. Griffin (AI) 0.7% |
| Colorado | Richard Lamm | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Richard Lamm (Democratic) 65.7% John Fuhr (Republican) 31.2% Paul K. Grant (Libertarian) 2.0% Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.4% Alan Gummerson (Socialist Workers) 0.3% |
| Connecticut | William A. O'Neill | Democratic | 1980 | Incumbent elected to full term. | Y William A. O'Neill (Democratic) 53.7% Lewis B. Rome (Republican) 46.3% |
| Florida | Bob Graham | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Bob Graham (Democratic) 64.7% Skip Bafalis (Republican) 35.3% |
| Georgia | George Busbee | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Joe Frank Harris (Democratic) 62.8% Robert H. Bell (Republican) 37.2% |
| Hawaii | George Ariyoshi | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y George Ariyoshi (Democratic) 45.2% Frank Fasi (Independent Democrat) 28.6% D. G. Anderson (Republican) 26.1% |
| Idaho | John Evans | Democratic | 1977 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y John Evans (Democratic) 52.9% Phil Batt (Republican) 47.1% |
| Illinois | James R. Thompson | Republican | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y James R. Thompson (Republican) 49.44% Adlai Stevenson III (Democratic) 49.30% Bea Armstrong (Libertarian) 0.67% John E. Roche (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.60% |
| Iowa | Robert D. Ray | Republican | 1968 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold. | Y Terry Branstad (Republican) 52.8% Roxanne Conlin (Democratic) 46.6% Marcia Farrington (Libertarian) 0.3% Jim Bittner (Socialist) 0.3% |
| Kansas | John W. Carlin | Democratic | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y John W. Carlin (Democratic) 53.2% Sam Hardage (Republican) 44.5% James H. Ward (Libertarian) 1.0% Frank Shelton (American) 0.8% Warren C. Martin (Prohibition) 0.6% |
| Maine | Joseph E. Brennan | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic) 61.9% Charles R. Cragin (Republican) 38.1% Venn Warren (Independent) 0.6% J. Martin "Marty" Vachon (Independent) 0.6% |
| Maryland | Harry Hughes | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Harry Hughes (Democratic) 62.0% Robert A. Pascal (Republican) 38.0% |
| Massachusetts | Edward J. King | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-nomination. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 59.5% John W. Sears (Republican) 36.6% Frank Rich (Independent) 3.1% Rebecca Shipman (Libertarian) 0.9% |
| Michigan | William Milliken | Republican | 1969 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y James Blanchard (Democratic) 51.4% Richard Headlee (Republican) 45.1% Robert Tisch (Tisch Ind. Citizens) 2.6% Dick Jacobs (Libertarian) 0.5% James Phillips (American Ind.) 0.2% Leslie E. Craine (Socialist Workers) 0.1% Martin P. McLaughlin (Workers League) 0.1% |
| Minnesota | Al Quie | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Rudy Perpich (Democratic) 58.6% Wheelock Whitney (Republican) 40.0% Kathy Wheeler (Socialist Workers) 0.6% Tom McDonald (Honest Government) 0.5% Franklin H. Haws (Libertarian) 0.4% |
| Nebraska | Charles Thone | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Bob Kerrey (Democratic) 50.7% Charles Thone (Republican) 49.3% |
| Nevada | Robert List | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Richard Bryan (Democratic) 53.4% Robert List (Republican) 41.8% None of These Candidates 2.9% Dan Becan (Libertarian) 1.9% |
| New Hampshire | Hugh Gallen | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain. | Y John H. Sununu (Republican) 51.5% Hugh Gallen (Democratic) 46.8% Meldrim Thomson Jr. (Independent) 1.7% |
| New Mexico | Bruce King | Democratic | 1970 1974 (term-limited) 1978 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Toney Anaya (Democratic) 53.0% John B. Irick (Republican) 47.0% |
| New York | Hugh Carey | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic hold. | Y Mario Cuomo (Democratic) 50.9% Lewis Lehrman (Republican) 47.5% Robert J. Bohner (Right to Life) 1.0% John H. Northrup (Libertarian) 0.3% Jane Benedict (Unity) 0.1% Nancy Ross (New Alliance) 0.1% Diane Wang (Socialist Workers) 0.1% |
| Ohio | Jim Rhodes | Republican | 1962 1970 (term-limited) 1974 | Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Dick Celeste (Democratic) 59.0% Bud Brown (Republican) 38.9% Phyllis Goetz (Libertarian) 1.2% Kurt O. Landefiled (Independent) 0.5% Erwin Reupert (Independent) 0.4% |
| Oklahoma | George Nigh | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y George Nigh (Democratic) 62.1% Tom Daxon (Republican) 37.6% Allah-U Akbar Allah-U Wahid (Independent) 0.3% |
| Oregon | Victor Atiyeh | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Victor Atiyeh (Republican) 63.1% Ted Kulongoski (Democratic) 36.9% |
| Pennsylvania | Dick Thornburgh | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Dick Thornburgh (Republican) 50.8% Allen E. Ertel (Democratic) 48.1% Mark Zola (Socialist Workers) 0.4% Lee Frissell (Consumer) 0.4% Richard D. Fuerle (Libertarian) 0.3% |
| Rhode Island | J. Joseph Garrahy | Democratic | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y J. Joseph Garrahy (Democratic) 73.3% Vincent Marzullo (Republican) 23.6% Hilary R. Salk (Independent) 2.1% Peter Van Daam (Independent) 1.0% |
| South Carolina | Richard Riley | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Richard Riley (Democratic) 69.8% W. D. Workman Jr. (Republican) 30.2% |
| South Dakota | Bill Janklow | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Bill Janklow (Republican) 70.9% Michael J. O'Connor (Democratic) 29.1% |
| Tennessee | Lamar Alexander | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Lamar Alexander (Republican) 59.6% Randy Tyree (Democratic) 40.4% |
| Texas | Bill Clements | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Mark White (Democratic) 53.2% Bill Clements (Republican) 45.9% David Hutzelman (Libertarian) 0.6% Bob Poteet (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.3% |
| Vermont | Richard A. Snelling | Republican | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Richard A. Snelling (Republican) 55.0% Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 44.0% Richard Gottlieb (Liberty Union) 0.5% John L. Buttolph III (Libertarian) 0.5% |
| Wisconsin | Lee S. Dreyfus | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Tony Earl (Democratic) 56.8% Terry Kohler (Republican) 42.0% Larry Smiley (Libertarian) 0.6% James Wickstrom (U.S. Taxpayers) 0.5% Peter Seidman (Socialist Workers) 0.2% |
| Wyoming | Edgar Herschler | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Edgar Herschler (Democratic) 63.1% Warren A. Morton (Republican) 36.9% |

### 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) 81.0% E. Brooke Lee Jr. (Republican) 14.1% Dennis S. Sobin (Independent) 2.3% Glenn B. White (Socialist Workers) 1.3% |
| Guam | Paul M. Calvo | Republican | 1978 | Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain. | Y Ricardo Bordallo (Democratic) 52.4% Paul McDonald Calvo (Republican) 47.6% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Juan Francisco Luis | Independent | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | Y Juan Francisco Luis (Independent) 100% |

## Close states

States where the margin of victory was under 1%:
* Illinois, 0.14%
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:
* California, 1.2%
* Nebraska, 1.4%
* New York, 2.4%
* Pennsylvania, 2.7%
* New Hampshire, 4.7%
* Guam, 4.8%
States where the margin of victory was under 10%:
* Idaho, 5.8%
* New Mexico, 6.0%
* Iowa, 6.2%
* Michigan, 6.3%
* Texas, 7.3%
* Connecticut, 7.4%
* Kansas, 8.7%
* Alaska, 9.0%
* Arkansas, 9.4%