US Gubernatorial Elections 1996
Republican=4 (1 open), Democrat=7 (3 open) |
|---|
| State | Incumbent | Party | Opponent | Prognosis | Result |
| Delaware |
Thomas R. Carper |
Democrat |
Janet Rzewnicki (Rep) |
Safe Democrat. Carper won in 1992 with 65% of the vote. His opponent is GOP state treasurer and is campaigning on cutting state taxes. |
Carper
69-31 |
| Indiana |
Evan Bayh
(cannot run, term limited);
Frank O'Bannon, currently Lt.Gov., is new candidate |
Democrat |
Stephen Goldsmith (Rep), Mayor of Indianapolis |
Indiana tends to be a GOP state (both senators and 6 of 10 House members are Republican), but Bayh is popular. This is a rough and costly race. |
O'Bannon
51-47 |
| Missouri |
Mel Carnahan |
Democrat |
Margaret Kelley (Rep), state auditor |
Safe Democrat. Polls show Kelley well behind. The campaign is turning on tax and allegations by Carnahan that Kelley favoured her political allies as auditor. |
Carnahan
57-40 |
| Montana |
Marc Racicot |
Republican |
Chet Blaylock (Dem), ex-state senator |
Safe Republican. Racicot considered running against Democratic Senator Baucus this year, but decided to run for re-election as governor instead. Several unions, including teachers, are backing the GOP incumbent.Blaylock died in October and was replaced by Judy Jacobson. |
Racicot
80-20 |
| New Hampshire |
Stephen Merrill
(retiring)
Ovid Lamontagne, New Hampshire Education Board chair, is the new Republican candidate. |
Republican |
Jeanne Shaheen (Dem), state senator |
New Hampshire has 2-year terms for Governor. Democrats are apparently confident about their chances. Lamontagne, a conservative favourite, fought a tough battle with Bill Zeliff, a moderate, for the GOP nomination. |
Shaheen
57-40 |
| North Carolina |
James B. Hunt Jr. |
Democrat |
Robin Hayes (Rep),
State House
Majority Whip |
Safe Democrat, although this state hasn't supported a Democrat for President since 1976. Hunt is campaigning on education and reducing taxation, whilst Hayes has the support of the NRA and Christian Coalition. |
Hunt
56-43 |
| North Dakota |
Edward T. Schafer |
Republican |
Lee Kaldor (Dem),
State Representative |
Safe Republican. Education is a big issue in this race, whilst Schafer has had to deal with questions about his links to a fishing company. |
Schafer
66-34 |
| Utah |
Michael O. Leavitt |
Republican |
Jim Bradley (Dem), ex-Salt Lake Co. commissioner |
Safe Republican. Leavitt has the highest approval rating of any governor in the country. Bradley was a late entry into the race to prevent the Democrats simply conceding the seat. |
Leavitt
75-23 |
| Vermont |
Howard Dean M.D. |
Democrat |
John Gropper (Rep), 1994 candidate |
Vermont has 2-year terms for Governor; Dean is one of the most liberal governors and should be comfortably re-elected, recent polls showing he could top 70% of the vote. |
Dean
71-23 |
| Washington |
Michael Lowry
(retiring), Gary Locke is new candidate |
Democrat |
Ellen Craswell (Rep) |
Lowry quit amid sexual harrassment charges; this should be a Democratic seat. Locke would become the first mainland Asian-American governor. |
Locke
59-41 |
| West Virginia |
Gaston Caperton
(cannot run,
term limited)
Charlotte Pritt, ex-state senator, is new candidate |
Democrat |
Cecil Underwood (Rep),
ex-Governor |
A close race. Pritt, a former teacher, lacks the support of Caperton, whilst Underwood has 50 years of government experience and is campaigning on jobs and economic development. |
Underwood
52-46 |
