Nov. 3, 2020 Governor Races

Gov.
 Sen.
2021
 x
2020
x
2019
 x
2018
 x x
2017
 x x
2016
 x
 x
2015
 x
2014
 x x
2013
 x x
2012
 x x
2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1997

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

1991

1990

1989


At Stake: 11 Seats
Before Nov. 3: 26R, 24D.

DE  -  IN  -  MO  -  MT  -  NH  -  NC  -  ND  -  UT  -  VT  -   WA  -  WV 


Democrats Republicans Third Party/Independent
Delaware




Indiana




Missouri





Montana

R+




New Hampshire




North Carolina




North Dakota




Utah
 missing




Vermont




Washington




West Virginia


Thank you to the many people who have helped make this page possible.

After Nov. 3: 27R, 23D.

   Margin of Victory in Percentage Points
25.01 +
 20.01-25.0
 15.01-20.0
 10.01-15.0
 5.01-10.0
 0-5.0
 0-5.0
 5.01-10.0
 10.01-15.0
 15.01-20.0
 20.01-25.0
 25.01 +

DE 20.83
WA 13.44
NC 4.51

MT 12.87
 MO 15.70
 IN 24.46
 ND 30.46
NH 31.62
UT 33.09
WV 33.94
VT 41.13
 

Several More Facts & Figs

  • All nine incumbents seeking re-election (or, in Missouri, election) won their races.  Two new governors were elected, Greg Gianforte (R-MT) and Spencer Cox (R-UT).  Montana was the only change in party control.
  • Only three of the 22 major party nominees were women: Julianne Murray (R-DE), Nicole Galloway (D-MO) and Shelley Lenz (D-NPL-ND).
  • Only one major party nominee, Woody Myers (D-IN), was a member of a minority group.
  • The closest race, as in 2016, was in North Carolina; Gov. Roy Cooper (D) defeated Lt. Gov. Dan Forest (R) by 4.51 percentage points.
  • An eye-opening five of the 11 races were decided by more than 30 percentage points, all in favor of Republicans.  While North Dakota, Utah and West Virginia are seen as red states, the wide margins in New Hampshire and Vermont were surprising and can be attributed to voter approval of those governors' handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Best showing by a third party or independent candidate: in Indiana the Libertarian ticket of Donald Rainwater/William Henry garnered 11.44% of the vote.
see also: campaign managers

_______

 

A Most Basic Content Analysis of the Intro Lit. Pieces

 – number of words and most frequently appearing words –

Dem. texts, clean text  |  Rep. texts, clean text   [PDF]
  • Applying wordcounter.net to the texts showed Democratic lit. pieces had an average of 244 words and Republican lit. pieces an average of 208 words.  Words in logos are not included.
  • Applying wordart.com to combined Democratic texts and combined Republican texts showed the top 15 words by candidates of each party.  Common words (the, of, is...), disclaimer ("Paid...") and state and candidate names are not included.


Democratic candidates
 3,178
 Republican candidates
 2,500
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
 Governor
Job
Health
State
Protect
Work
Care
Education
Public
Access
Vote
Invest
School
Afford
First
34
25
25
24
19
19
18
17
13
13
12
12
11
10
10
 Governor
Job
State
Economy
Protect
Lead
Justice
Right
Work
Education
First
Put
People
School
Tax
 27
17
17
16
15
15
14
13
12
11
11
10
10
10
10

  • "Governor" "Job" "State" and "Protect" were among the top five words for candidates of both parties. The notable difference was "Health" which appeared at number 3 in the Democratic candidates' literature and "Economy" which appeared at number 4 in the Republican candidates' literature. 

  • The pandemic was well represented although the word tally doesn't show it.  "Protect"—as in "protecting lives"—was at number 5 on both lists.  Eleven of 25 pieces mentioned the pandemic directly and there are also various allusions to it.  Also keep in mind that some of these lit. pieces were printed before the pandemic took hold.
Six of the 13 Democratic pieces mentioned the pandemic directly:
DE (a) "a real leader for Delaware through this COVID-19 crisis" - b) "have taken a science-based approach to COVID-19 and focused on protecting lives" - "Before the COVID-19 crisis, Governor..." - "Before the COVID-19 crisis, Governor..." [appears twice]);

MO ("COVID-19 cases are rising" - "protecting Missourians against COVID-19" - "instead that money will be used to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, make...);

NC ("Slow the spread of coronavirus and protect lives");

UT ("a scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic");

WA ("well-reasoned, life-saving decisions during the pandemic" - "performance during the coronavirus pandemic")
Five of the 12 Republican pieces mentioned the pandemic directly:
IN ("Coordinating data-driven statewide response to COVID-19 pandemic" - "Deployed 200 COVID-19 testing sites statewide")

MO ("while keeping our most vulnerable citizens safe from the virus.")

NH ("handled the COVID-19 crisis with such skill and care" - "Secured tens of millions of PPE for New Hampshire" - "Disbursed nearly $543 million for emergency financial relief to individuals, non-profits, health care providers, and businesses affected by COVID-19")

NC ("protect the elderly in nursing homes from COVID-19")

VT ("Keeping Vermonters Safe, Protecting the Most Vulnerable, Following the Science
Listening to the Experts"
There are also more indirect references to the pandemic.  For example:
 "Governor Parson has worked hard to protect the health and well-being of all Missourians."

Sununu (NH) "his insistence on being guided by data and the advice of public health officials"

Forest (NC) "open and rebuild our state's economy"

_______


Debates

In five states there was only one gubernatorial debate, in five states there were two gubernatorial debates, and Vermont had four gubernatorial debates.  In three states there were more than just the two major party candidates participating (*).  Debate organizers made various adjustments to avoid spread of the coronavirus, eliminating audiences, instituting social distancing and sometimes having the candidates in remote locations.

DE
 IN
 MO
 MT
 NH
 NC
 ND
 UT
 VT
 WA
 WV
Oct. 13
Oct. 28
 Oct. 20*
Oct. 27*
 Oct. 9* Oct. 3
Oct. 6
 Oct. 19
Oct. 20
 Oct. 14 Oct. 21* Sept. 25
Sept. 29
 Sept. 24
Sept. 29
Oct. 1
Oct. 7
 Oct. 7 Oct. 13
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