Closest governor elections in history
What is the closest governor election in history?
Among races with real turnout (at least 50,000 combined votes for the top two finishers), Minnesota in 1962, when Karl Rolvaag beat incumbent Elmer Andersen by just 91 votes out of nearly 1.24 million cast (619,842 to 619,751), after a recount that took months to certify. Smaller early electorates have produced closer margins, including an exact tie, but with turnout too small to compare meaningfully; see the note below. Washington’s 2004 race, decided by 129 votes after two recounts, is the closest of the modern era.
129 votes decided the closest governor’s race in modern U.S. history: Washington’s 2004 contest between Christine Gregoire and Dino Rossi, out of about 2.7 million cast.
How this ranking is measured
Gubernatorial general elections ranked by the smallest gap in vote share between the top two finishers, among races with real turnout: a floor of at least 50,000 combined votes for the top two finishers, across all 50 states. That floor, along with excluding early legislature-chosen governorships, is what keeps this list to genuinely comparable elections; New Jersey’s 1802 race, tied 26 to 26, and several Maryland and Georgia races from the 1810s and 1830s decided by a vote or two out of under 100 cast, are far closer but fall well below it. Minnesota’s 1962 race, decided by 91 votes, tops the list that clears the floor; Washington’s 2004 race, decided by 129 votes, is the closest of the modern era.