PolitiFinder

1978 Governor election results

36 races · 36 with a recorded winner · popular vote by contest

Every Governor contest in the 1978 U.S. general election. Each race links to its full popular-vote breakdown; winners link to their profile. Part of the party vote tracker.

1978 Governor results by state
StateWinnerResult
AlabamaFob JamesD551,786 votes · +354,823 over H. Guy Hunt
AlaskaJay HammondR49,580 votes · +16,025 over Wally Hickel
ArizonaBruce BabbittD282,605 votes · +41,512 over Evan Mecham
ArkansasBill ClintonD335,101 votes · +141,355 over Lynn Lowe
CaliforniaJerry BrownD3,878,812 votes · +1,352,278 over Evelle Younger
ColoradoRichard LammD483,985 votes · +166,693 over Ted L. Strickland
ConnecticutElla GrassoD613,109 votes · +190,793 over Ronald Sarasin
FloridaBob GrahamD1,406,580 votes · +282,692 over Jack Eckerd
GeorgiaGeorge BusbeeD534,572 votes · +406,433 over Rodney Mims Cook Sr.
HawaiiGeorge AriyoshiD153,394 votes · +28,784 over John Leopold
IdahoJohn V. EvansD169,540 votes · +55,391 over Allan Larsen
IllinoisJim ThompsonR1,859,684 votes · +596,550 over Michael Bakalis
IowaRobert D. RayR491,713 votes · +146,194 over Jerome D. Fitzgerald
KansasJohn W. CarlinD363,835 votes · +15,820 over Robert F. Bennett
MaineJoseph BrennanD176,493 votes · +49,631 over Linwood E. Palmer Jr.
MarylandHarry HughesD705,910 votes · +412,275 over John Glenn Beall Jr.
MassachusettsEdward J. KingD1,030,294 votes · +104,222 over Francis W. Hatch Jr.
MichiganWilliam MillikenR1,628,485 votes · +391,229 over William B. Fitzgerald
MinnesotaAl QuieR830,019 votes · +111,775 over Rudy Perpich
NebraskaCharles ThoneR275,473 votes · +58,719 over Gerald T. Whelan
NevadaRobert ListR108,097 votes · +31,736 over Robert E. Rose
New HampshireHugh GallenD133,133 votes · +10,669 over Meldrim Thomson
New MexicoBruce KingD174,631 votes · +3,783 over Joe Skeen
New YorkHugh CareyD2,429,272 votes · +272,868 over Perry Duryea
OhioJim RhodesR1,402,167 votes · +47,536 over Dick Celeste
OklahomaGeorge NighD402,240 votes · +35,185 over Ron Shotts
OregonVictor AtiyehR498,452 votes · +89,041 over Robert Straub
PennsylvaniaDick ThornburghR1,966,042 votes · +228,154 over Pete Flaherty
Rhode IslandJ. Joseph GarrahyD197,386 votes · +100,790 over Lincoln Almond
South CarolinaRichard RileyD384,898 votes · +147,952 over Edward Lunn Young
South DakotaBill JanklowR147,116 votes · +34,437 over Roger D. McKellips
TennesseeLamar AlexanderR661,959 votes · +138,464 over Jake Butcher
TexasBill ClementsR1,183,828 votes · +16,909 over John Hill
VermontRichard SnellingR78,181 votes · +35,699 over Edwin Granai
WisconsinLee S. DreyfusR816,056 votes · +142,243 over Martin J. Schreiber
WyomingEdgar HerschlerD69,972 votes · +2,377 over John Ostlund