2010 Gubernatorial Races

Most states hold elections for governor on an alternating cycle with Presidential elections: there are 37 statehouses on the block on 2 November 2010, including Utah, which will hold a special election following the resignation of Gov. Jon Huntsman (R) to become U.S. Ambassador to China. Two territories will also hold elections for governor.

Overall, Democrats have a 28 to 22 advantage in state governorships — a reversal from the 2004 election. Of the 37 state governor seats in the 2010 election, 20 are held by Democrats and 17 by Republicans. Two governorships – New Jersey and Virginia – were decided in November 2009; both flipped from Democratic to Republican. Thus, this mid-term cycle is an important barometer of the electorate post-2008.

2009-2010 Gubernatorial Races, U.S. States

2009-2010 Gubernatorial Races, U.S. States

Open Governorships

An open seat is one where the incumbent is not running for re-election, either through term limits or voluntary retirement (*). Democrat seats (11) are in boldface

  1. Alabama: Bob Riley (R)
  2. California: Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)
  3. Colorado: Bill Ritter (D*) 6 Jan2009
  4. Connecticut: Jodi Rell (R*)
  5. Florida: Charlie Crist (R*)
  6. Georgia: Sonny Perdue (R)
  7. Hawaii: Linda Lingle (R)
  8. Kansas: Mark Parkinson (D*)
  9. Maine: John Baldacci (D)
  10. Michigan: Jennifer Granholm (D)
  11. Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty (R*)
  12. New Mexico: Bill Richardson (D)
  13. New York: David Paterson (D)
  14. Oklahoma: Brad Henry (D)
  15. Oregon: Ted Kulongoski (D)
  16. Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell (D)
  17. Rhode Island: Donald Carcieri (R)
  18. South Carolina: Mark Sanford (R)
  19. South Dakota: Mike Rounds (R)
  20. Tennessee: Phil Bredesen (D)
  21. Vermont: Jim Douglas (R*)
  22. Wisconsin: Jim Doyle (D*)

Democratic Incumbents Running

  1. Arkansas: Mike Beebe (D) – @GovBeebeMedia
  2. Illinois: Pat Quinn (D)
  3. Iowa: Chet Culver (D) – @GovChetCulver
  4. Maryland: Martin O’Malley (D) – @GovernorOMalley
  5. Massachusetts: Deval Patrick (D) – @MassGovernor
  6. New Hampshire: John Lynch (D) – @NHgov
  7. Ohio: Ted Strickland (D) – @TedStrickland
  8. Wyoming: Dave Freudenthal (D) may not be term-limited due to a state Supreme Court ruling

Republican Incumbents Running

  1. Alaska: Sean Parnell (R)
  2. Arizona: Jan Brewer (R) – @GovBrewer
  3. Idaho: Butch Otter (R) – @ButchOtter
  4. Nebraska: Dave Heineman (R)
  5. Nevada: Jim Gibbons (R) – @GovernorGibbons
  6. Texas: Rick Perry (R) – @GovernorPerry and @TexGov
  7. Utah: Gary Herbert (R) – @governorherbert

US Territories

  1. Guam: Felix Camacho (R), open-seat
  2. Virgin Islands: John de Jongh (D)

See 2005 Gubernatorial Races; 2006 Gubernatorial Races; 2008 Gubernatorial Races.

Other resources: In-Trade Senate Race Forecast; Our Campaigns; Wikipedia

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