Election 1990 Results
Each election opens in its own mode: the forecast before the votes are counted, the live count while races are still too close to call, and the results once every race is decided.
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1990 governor election results by state and county
The 1990 governor races brought heavy turnover: Democrats won 19 and Republicans 16, with Ann Richards taking Texas and Republicans winning Massachusetts, Michigan and Ohio.
36 governor races were held in 1990. Democrats won 19 and Republicans 15, and 2 went to neither party.
The closest were Michigan (R+0.7), Nebraska (D+0.7) and Texas (D+2.6). 14 governorships changed party: Alaska to the third party, Connecticut to the third party, Florida to the Democrats, Kansas to the Democrats, Massachusetts to the Republicans, Michigan to the Republicans, Minnesota to the Republicans, Nebraska to the Democrats, New Mexico to the Democrats, Ohio to the Republicans, Oklahoma to the Democrats, Rhode Island to the Democrats, Texas to the Democrats and Vermont 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 1990 governor elections
The 1990 midterms took place during George H. W. Bush's presidency, with a recession beginning, a budget deal that broke his no-new-taxes pledge and the buildup to the Gulf War. Thirty-six states elected governors, and many incumbents or their parties were turned out. Democrats won 19 races and Republicans 16. Democrats took Florida with Lawton Chiles, Kansas, Nebraska, where Ben Nelson beat Governor Kay Orr by 0.7 points, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Texas, where Ann Richards defeated Clayton Williams by 2.5 points. Republicans gained Massachusetts with William F. Weld, Michigan, where John Engler beat Governor James J. Blanchard by 0.7 points, Minnesota with Arne Carlson, Ohio with George Voinovich and Vermont. Pete Wilson beat Dianne Feinstein in California. Two independents won. Lowell Weicker took Connecticut and Walter Hickel won Alaska. In Arizona, Republican Fife Symington led Terry Goddard by 0.4 points but fell short of a majority, sending the race to a runoff in early 1991.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Paul R. Hubbert | 582,106 (47.9%) | Guy Hunt | 633,519 (52.1%) | 625 | R+4.2 |
| Alaska flip | Tony Knowles | 60,201 (30.9%) | Arliss Sturgulewski | 50,991 (26.2%) | Wally Hickel (Alaskan Independence) 75,721 (38.9%) |
Ind. +8.0 |
| Arizona | Terry Goddard | 448,168 (47.6%) | Fife Symington | 492,569 (52.4%) | R+4.7 | |
| Arizona: Decided in the February 1991 runoff. | ||||||
| Arkansas | Bill Clinton | 400,386 (57.5%) | Sheffield Nelson | 295,925 (42.5%) | 101 | D+15.0 |
| California | Dianne Feinstein | 3,525,197 (45.8%) | Pete Wilson | 3,791,904 (49.2%) | 382,366 | R+3.5 |
| Colorado | Roy Romer | 626,032 (61.9%) | John Andrews | 358,403 (35.4%) | 26,837 | D+26.5 |
| Connecticut flip | Bruce Morrison | 236,641 (20.7%) | John G. Rowland | 427,840 (37.5%) | Lowell Weicker (A Connecticut Party) 460,576 (40.4%) |
Ind. +2.9 |
| Florida flip | Lawton Chiles | 1,995,206 (56.5%) | Bob Martinez | 1,535,068 (43.5%) | 597 | D+13.0 |
| Georgia | Zell Miller | 766,662 (52.9%) | Johnny Isakson | 645,625 (44.5%) | 37,365 | D+8.4 |
| Hawaii | John Waihee | 203,491 (59.8%) | Fred Hemmings | 131,310 (38.6%) | 5,331 | D+21.2 |
| Idaho | Cecil D. Andrus | 218,673 (68.2%) | Roger Fairchild | 101,937 (31.8%) | D+36.4 | |
| Illinois | Neil F. Hartigan | 1,569,217 (48.2%) | Jim Edgar | 1,653,126 (50.7%) | 35,067 | R+2.6 |
| Iowa | Donald D. Avenson | 379,372 (38.9%) | Terry E. Branstad | 591,852 (60.6%) | 5,259 | R+21.8 |
| Kansas flip | Joan Finney | 380,609 (48.6%) | Mike Hayden | 333,589 (42.6%) | Christina Campbell-Cline (Independent) 69,127 (8.8%) |
D+6.0 |
| Maine | Joseph E. Brennan | 230,038 (44.1%) | John McKernan Jr. | 243,766 (46.7%) | Andrew Adam (Independent) 48,377 (9.3%) |
R+2.6 |
| Maryland | William D. Schaefer | 664,015 (59.8%) | William S. Shepard | 446,980 (40.2%) | 93 | D+19.5 |
| Massachusetts flip | John Silber | 1,099,878 (46.9%) | William F. Weld | 1,175,817 (50.2%) | 67,232 | R+3.2 |
| Michigan flip | James J. Blanchard | 1,258,539 (49.1%) | John Engler | 1,276,134 (49.8%) | 29,890 | R+0.7 |
| Minnesota flip | Rudy Perpich | 836,218 (46.8%) | Arne Carlson | 895,988 (50.1%) | 55,957 | R+3.3 |
| Nebraska flip | Earl Nelson | 292,771 (49.9%) | Kay Orr | 288,741 (49.2%) | 5,030 | D+0.7 |
| Nevada | Robert J. Miller | 207,878 (64.8%) | Jim Gallaway | 95,789 (29.9%) | 17,076 | D+35.0 |
| New Hampshire | J. Joseph Grandmaison | 101,923 (34.5%) | Judd Gregg | 177,773 (60.3%) | 15,322 | R+25.7 |
| New Mexico flip | Bruce King | 224,564 (54.6%) | Frank Bond | 185,692 (45.2%) | 976 | D+9.5 |
| New York | Mario Cuomo | 2,157,087 (53.2%) | Pierre Andrew Rinfret | 865,948 (21.3%) | Herbert London (Conservative) 827,614 (20.4%) |
D+31.8 |
| Ohio flip | Anthony J. Celebrezze | 1,544,416 (44.3%) | George Voinovich | 1,938,103 (55.7%) | 131 | R+11.3 |
| Oklahoma flip | David Walters | 523,196 (57.3%) | Bill Price | 297,584 (32.6%) | Thomas D. Ledgerwood II (Independent) 90,534 (9.9%) |
D+24.7 |
| Oregon | Barbara Roberts | 508,749 (45.7%) | Dave Frohnmayer | 444,646 (40.0%) | Al Mobley (Independent) 144,062 (12.9%) |
D+5.8 |
| Pennsylvania | Robert Casey | 2,065,244 (67.7%) | Barbara Hafer | 987,516 (32.3%) | D+35.3 | |
| Rhode Island flip | Bruce G. Sundlun | 264,411 (74.2%) | Edward Diprete | 92,177 (25.8%) | D+48.3 | |
| South Carolina | Theo Mitchell | 212,034 (27.9%) | Carroll Campbell | 528,831 (69.5%) | 20,100 | R+41.6 |
| South Dakota | Bob L. Samuelson | 105,525 (41.1%) | George S. Mickelson | 151,198 (58.9%) | R+17.8 | |
| Tennessee | Ned McWherter | 480,885 (60.8%) | Dwight Henry | 289,348 (36.6%) | 20,208 | D+24.2 |
| Texas flip | Ann Richards | 1,925,670 (49.5%) | Clayton Williams | 1,826,231 (46.9%) | 140,586 | D+2.6 |
| Vermont flip | Peter Welch | 97,321 (46.0%) | Richard A. Snelling | 109,540 (51.8%) | 4,561 | R+5.8 |
| Wisconsin | Thomas Loftus | 576,280 (41.8%) | Tommy G. Thompson | 802,321 (58.2%) | 1,126 | R+16.4 |
| Wyoming | Mike Sullivan | 104,638 (65.4%) | Mary Mead | 55,471 (34.6%) | D+30.7 | |
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). How these results were checked.