Election 1996 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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1996 governor election results by state and county
Democrats won seven of 11 governor races in 1996 as Bill Clinton was re-elected, with Jeanne Shaheen taking New Hampshire and Republicans gaining West Virginia.
11 governor races were held in 1996. Democrats won 7 and Republicans 4.
The closest were Indiana (D+4.8), West Virginia (R+5.8) and North Carolina (D+13.2). 2 governorships changed party: New Hampshire to the Democrats and West Virginia 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 1996 governor elections
Bill Clinton won a second term in 1996, defeating Bob Dole, while Republicans kept control of Congress. Eleven states elected governors, and Democrats won seven to the Republicans' four. Democrats gained New Hampshire, where Jeanne Shaheen beat Ovide M. Lamontagne by about 18 points to become the state's first woman governor. Republicans took West Virginia, where Cecil H. Underwood, who had first been governor in the late 1950s, defeated Charlotte Pritt by about six points. His two terms were separated by almost four decades. In Indiana, Democrat Frank O'Bannon beat Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith by about five points. Gary Locke won Washington by 16 points and became the first Chinese American governor in U.S. history. James B. Hunt Jr. won a fourth term in North Carolina, Mel Carnahan was re-elected in Missouri, and Howard Dean and Thomas R. Carper won easily. Republicans Mike Leavitt in Utah and Edward T. Schafer in North Dakota held their states by wide margins.
Every race
| State | Democrat | Votes | Republican | Votes | Others | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | Thomas R. Carper | 188,300 (69.5%) | Janet C. Rzewnicki | 82,654 (30.5%) | D+39.0 | |
| Indiana | Frank O'Bannon | 1,087,128 (51.5%) | Stephen Goldsmith | 986,982 (46.8%) | 35,937 | D+4.8 |
| Missouri | Mel Carnahan | 1,224,801 (57.2%) | Margaret Kelly | 866,268 (40.4%) | 51,449 | D+16.7 |
| Montana | Judy Jacobson | 84,407 (20.8%) | Marc Racicot | 320,768 (79.2%) | R+58.3 | |
| New Hampshire flip | Jeanne Shaheen | 284,175 (57.2%) | Ovide M. Lamontagne | 196,321 (39.5%) | 16,290 | D+17.7 |
| North Carolina | Jim Hunt | 1,436,638 (56.0%) | Robin Hayes | 1,097,053 (42.8%) | 32,351 | D+13.2 |
| North Dakota | Lee Kaldor | 89,349 (33.8%) | Edward T. Schafer | 174,937 (66.2%) | 12 | R+32.4 |
| Utah | Jim Bradley | 156,616 (23.3%) | Mike O. Leavitt | 503,693 (75.0%) | 11,570 | R+51.7 |
| Vermont | Howard B. Dean | 179,544 (70.5%) | John L. Gropper | 57,161 (22.4%) | 17,943 | D+48.1 |
| Washington | Gary Locke | 1,296,492 (58.0%) | Ellen Craswell | 940,538 (42.0%) | D+15.9 | |
| West Virginia flip | Charlotte Pritt | 287,870 (45.8%) | Cecil H. Underwood | 324,518 (51.6%) | 16,171 | R+5.8 |
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.