Biggest governor landslides in Georgia

The most lopsided races for governor of Georgia, ranked by the winner’s margin over the runner-up.

The biggest landslide in a Georgia governor’s race was in 1902, a margin of 87.2 points. Joseph M. Terrell beat J. K. Hines, 81,548 to 5,566. Next widest are 1908 (81.1 points) and 1910 (69.6 points).

Every state is ranked together on Biggest governor landslides. For every gubernatorial race Georgia has held, special elections included, see the Georgia governor hub.

What is the biggest landslide in a Georgia governor’s race?

The widest margin in a Georgia gubernatorial general election came in 1902, 87.2 points. Joseph M. Terrell beat J. K. Hines, 81,548 to 5,566. Next are 1908 (81.1 points) and 1910 (69.6 points).

Why do some huge wins not appear?

A blowout only counts here when somebody real finished second, which means at least 5% of the vote. Without that rule the list fills with uncontested races and with contests where the record is simply missing the major opponent, both of which show the winner near 100%.

Does this include recalls and special elections?

No, only regular general elections for governor. The Georgia governor hub lists every race including specials and recalls.

Biggest governor landslides in Georgia
#	Election	Result	Votes	Margin
1	1902	Joseph M. Terrell D def. J. K. Hines P	81,548 – 5,566	+87.2 points
2	1908	Joseph Mackey Brown D def. Yancy Carter I	112,292 – 11,746	+81.1 points
3	1910	Hoke Smith D def. Joseph Mackey Brown D	95,000 – 17,000	+69.6 points
4	1978	George Busbee D def. Rodney Mims Cook Sr. R	534,572 – 128,139	+61.4 points
5	1900	Allen D. Candler D def. John H. Traylor P	92,729 – 25,285	+57.2 points
6	1876	Alfred H. Colquitt D def. Jonathan Norcross R	111,297 – 33,443	+53.8 points
7	1882	Alexander H. Stephens D def. Lucius J. Gartrell D	107,649 – 44,893	+41.1 points
8	1986	Joe Frank Harris D def. Guy Davis R	828,465 – 346,512	+41.0 points
9	1829	George R. Gilmer J def. Joel Crawford J	28,850 – 12,082	+41.0 points
10	1898	Allen D. Candler D def. John R. Hogan P	118,028 – 51,191	+39.5 points
11	1872	James Milton Smith D def. Dawson A. Walker R	104,256 – 45,812	+38.9 points
12	1974	George Busbee D def. Ronnie Thompson R	646,777 – 289,113	+38.2 points
13	1892	William J. Northen D def. W. L. Peck P	136,543 – 68,093	+33.4 points
14	1880	Alfred H. Colquitt D def. Thomas M. Norwood D	118,349 – 64,004	+29.8 points
15	1863	Joseph E. Brown D def. Joshua Hill P	36,558 – 18,272	+28.2 points
16	1982	Joe Frank Harris D def. Robert H. Bell R	734,090 – 434,496	+25.6 points
17	1859	Joseph E. Brown D def. Warren Akin Sr. O	63,784 – 41,830	+20.8 points
18	2006	Sonny Perdue R def. Mark Taylor D	1,229,724 – 811,049	+19.7 points
19	1851	Howell Cobb C def. Charles McDonald R	57,417 – 38,824	+19.3 points
20	1970	Jimmy Carter D def. Hal Suit R	620,419 – 424,983	+18.7 points
21	1896	William Yates Atkinson D def. Seaborn Wright P	123,206 – 85,981	+17.8 points
22	1861	Joseph E. Brown D def. E. A. Nisbet D	46,493 – 32,802	+17.3 points
23	1894	William Yates Atkinson D def. J. K. Hines P	121,249 – 96,990	+11.1 points
24	1855	Herschel V. Johnson D def. Garnett Andrews K	54,136 – 43,358	+10.4 points
25	1857	Joseph E. Brown D def. Benjamin Harvey Hill K	57,631 – 46,796	+10.4 points

How this ranking is measured

Gubernatorial general elections in Georgia, ranked by the largest gap in vote share between the top two finishers, widest 25 shown. Served from the governor_race_margin materialized view. A qualifying race needs a genuine second-place finisher with at least 5% of the vote, and at least 1,000 votes between the top two. Recalls and special elections are excluded; the state hub lists those. The national list applies a 50,000-vote floor, so an early race can appear here and not there.

Compiled by PolitiFinder · published June 14, 2026 · sources: Data & sources · data last verified September 25, 2026.