Election 1978 Results
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1978 governor election results by state and county
Democrats won 21 governor races to 14 in 1978, but Republicans gained nine states, including Texas, where Bill Clements became the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.
36 governor races were held in 1978. Democrats won 21 and Republicans 15.
The closest were Texas (R+0.7), New Mexico (D+1.1) and Ohio (R+1.7). 13 governorships changed party: Kansas to the Democrats, Maine to the Democrats, Minnesota to the Republicans, Nebraska to the Republicans, Nevada to the Republicans, New Hampshire to the Democrats, Oregon to the Republicans, Pennsylvania to the Republicans, South Carolina to the Democrats, South Dakota to the Republicans, Tennessee to the Republicans, Texas to the Republicans and Wisconsin to the Republicans.
Early projection, based on early and incomplete polling: the likely matchups, each weighted by the betting markets' odds of both nominations, not a result. Each county is its 2024 presidential margin moved by its state's projected swing; set a national vote and every state, district and county moves by the same amount from our projection. Colours run in 100 steps from a safe Republican to a safe Democratic margin. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.
About the 1978 governor elections
The 1978 midterms came during Jimmy Carter's presidency, with high inflation and a tax revolt that began with California's Proposition 13. Democrats kept large majorities in Congress and won 21 governor races to 14, but Republicans made real gains at the state level. Republicans took Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin. William P. Clements beat John Hill in Texas by 0.7 points. Richard Thornburgh won Pennsylvania, and Lamar Alexander took Tennessee. James A. Rhodes held Ohio by under two points against Richard F. Celeste. Democrats gained Kansas, where John Carlin unseated Robert F. Bennett, New Hampshire, where Hugh J. Gallen beat Meldrim Thomson Jr., and South Carolina. Bill Clinton was elected in Arkansas at 32. Hugh L. Carey was re-elected in New York, Edward J. King won Massachusetts, Bruce King returned in New Mexico and Ed Herschler held Wyoming by under two points.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Fob James | 551,886 (72.6%) | Guy Hunt | 196,693 (25.9%) | 11,625 | D+46.7 |
| Alaska | Chancy Croft | 25,656 (20.2%) | Jay Hammond | 49,580 (39.1%) | Wally Hickel (Write-in) 33,555 (26.4%) |
R+18.9 |
| Arizona | Bruce Babbitt | 282,605 (52.5%) | Evan Mecham | 241,093 (44.8%) | 14,858 | D+7.7 |
| Arkansas | Bill Clinton | 335,101 (63.4%) | A. Lynn Lowe | 193,746 (36.6%) | 65 | D+26.7 |
| California | Edmund G. Brown Jr. | 3,878,812 (56.0%) | Evelle J. Younger | 2,526,534 (36.5%) | Ed Clark (Independent) 377,960 (5.5%) |
D+19.5 |
| Colorado | Richard D. Lamm | 483,985 (58.7%) | Ted Strickland | 317,292 (38.5%) | 22,530 | D+20.2 |
| Connecticut | Ella T. Grasso | 613,109 (59.1%) | Ronald A. Sarasin | 422,316 (40.7%) | 1,183 | D+18.4 |
| Florida | Bob Graham | 1,406,580 (55.6%) | Jack M. Eckerd | 1,123,888 (44.4%) | D+11.2 | |
| Georgia | George Busbee | 534,572 (80.7%) | Rodney M. Cook | 128,139 (19.3%) | D+61.3 | |
| Hawaii | George R. Ariyoshi | 153,394 (54.5%) | John Leopold | 124,610 (44.3%) | 3,583 | D+10.2 |
| Idaho | John V. Evans | 169,540 (58.8%) | Allan Larsen | 114,149 (39.6%) | 4,877 | D+19.2 |
| Illinois | Michael Bakalis | 1,263,134 (40.1%) | James R. Thompson | 1,859,684 (59.0%) | 27,277 | R+18.9 |
| Iowa | Jerome D. Fitzgerald | 345,519 (41.0%) | Robert E. Ray | 491,713 (58.3%) | 5,958 | R+17.3 |
| Kansas flip | John Carlin | 363,835 (49.4%) | Robert F. Bennett | 348,015 (47.3%) | 24,396 | D+2.2 |
| Maine flip | Joseph Brennan | 176,493 (47.8%) | Linwood E. Palmer Jr. | 126,862 (34.4%) | Herman C. Frankland (Independent) 65,889 (17.8%) |
D+13.4 |
| Maryland | Harry Hughes | 718,328 (71.0%) | John Glenn Beall Jr. | 293,635 (29.0%) | D+42.0 | |
| Massachusetts | Edward J. King | 1,030,294 (52.5%) | Francis W. Hatch | 926,072 (47.2%) | 5,885 | D+5.3 |
| Michigan | William Fitzgerald | 1,237,256 (43.2%) | William G. Milliken | 1,628,485 (56.8%) | 1,471 | R+13.6 |
| Minnesota flip | Rudy Perpich | 718,244 (45.3%) | Albert H. Quie | 830,019 (52.3%) | 37,439 | R+7.1 |
| Nebraska flip | Gerald T. Whelan | 216,754 (44.0%) | Charles Thone | 275,473 (55.9%) | 196 | R+11.9 |
| Nevada flip | Robert E. Rose | 76,361 (39.7%) | Robert F. List | 108,097 (56.2%) | 7,987 | R+16.5 |
| New Hampshire flip | Hugh Gallen | 133,133 (49.4%) | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | 122,464 (45.4%) | 13,990 | D+4.0 |
| New Mexico | Bruce King | 174,631 (50.5%) | Joseph R. Skeen | 170,848 (49.4%) | 98 | D+1.1 |
| New York | Hugh L. Carey | 2,429,272 (50.9%) | Perry B. Duryea | 2,156,404 (45.2%) | 183,144 | D+5.7 |
| Ohio | Richard F. Celeste | 1,354,631 (47.6%) | James A. Rhodes | 1,402,167 (49.3%) | 86,553 | R+1.7 |
| Oklahoma | George Nigh | 402,240 (51.7%) | Ron Shotts | 367,055 (47.2%) | 8,119 | D+4.5 |
| Oregon flip | Robert W. Straub | 409,411 (44.9%) | Victor Atiyeh | 498,452 (54.7%) | 3,280 | R+9.8 |
| Pennsylvania flip | Peter Flaherty | 1,737,888 (46.4%) | Richard Thornburgh | 1,966,042 (52.5%) | 38,039 | R+6.1 |
| Rhode Island | J. Joseph Garrahy | 197,386 (62.8%) | Lincoln Almond | 96,596 (30.7%) | Joseph A. Doorley Jr. (Independent) 20,381 (6.5%) |
D+32.1 |
| South Carolina flip | Richard W. Riley | 384,898 (61.4%) | Edward L. Young | 236,946 (37.8%) | 5,338 | D+23.6 |
| South Dakota flip | Roger McKellips | 112,679 (43.4%) | William J. Janklow | 147,116 (56.6%) | R+13.3 | |
| Tennessee flip | Jake Butcher | 523,495 (44.0%) | Lamar Alexander | 661,959 (55.6%) | 4,241 | R+11.6 |
| Texas flip | John Hill | 1,166,979 (49.2%) | William P. Clements | 1,183,839 (50.0%) | 18,946 | R+0.7 |
| Vermont | Edwin C. Granai | 42,482 (34.1%) | Richard A. Snelling | 78,181 (62.8%) | 3,819 | R+28.7 |
| Wisconsin flip | Martin J. Schreiber | 673,813 (44.9%) | Lee S. Dreyfus | 816,056 (54.4%) | 11,127 | R+9.5 |
| Wyoming | Ed Herschler | 69,972 (50.9%) | John C. Ostlund | 67,595 (49.1%) | D+1.7 |
Margin: the Democrat's share of all votes minus the Republican's. Margins are Democrat minus Republican, of all votes. Certified results, from the states' own archives, the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Heideman (2026) and Algara & Amlani (2021). By county: "As they were" draws each county as it stood on election day; "Today's" shares the old votes among today's counties by area. County boundaries: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5). How these results were checked.