2010 Gubernatorial Election Results

The following is a list of official results from gubernatorial elections held in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Full List of Results

Alabama

Two-term Republican incumbent Bob Riley was term-limited and thus ineligible for re-election.

Alabama Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robert Bentley	57.6%	860,472
	Democratic	Ron Sparks	41.9%	625,710
	Other	Write-ins	0.5%	8,091
Total Votes				1,494,273

Republican Hold

Alaska

Republican incumbent Sean Parnell took office in July 2009 following the resignation of Governor Sarah Palin. He was elected to a full term, defeating Democrat Ethan Berkowitz.

Alaska Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sean Parnell Incumbent	59.1%	151,318
	Democratic	Ethan Berkowitz	37.7%	96,519
	Alaskan Independence	Donald R. Wright	1.9%	4,775
	Libertarian	Billy Toien	1%	2,682
	Other	Write-ins	0.4%	898
Total Votes				256,192

Republican Hold

Arizona

In 2009, Democratic governor Janet Napolitano resigned to become Secretary of Homeland Security in the cabinet of President Barack Obama; she was replaced by Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer, who ran for a full term. Early polling indicated that Brewer was vulnerable; following the passage of the new immigration law SB 1070, her numbers increased significantly, and she easily defeated Attorney General Terry Goddard in the general election.

Arizona Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jan Brewer Incumbent	54.3%	938,934
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	42.4%	733,935
	Libertarian	Barry J. Hess	2.2%	38,722
	Green	Larry Gist	0.9%	16,128
	Other	Write-ins	0.1%	2,017
Total Votes				1,729,736

Republican Hold

Arkansas

Democratic incumbent Mike Beebe was easily elected to a second term, defeating Republican challenger Jim Keet.

2010 Arkansas gubernatorial general election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Mike Beebe	64.42%
	Republican Party	Jim Keet	33.63%
	Green Party	Jim Lendall	1.86%
	Other	write-in	0.09%
Total Votes			781,333

Democratic Hold

California

Incumbent Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was first elected in the 2003 recall election against Governor Gray Davis, did not run for re-election. In the election to replace him, former Demoratic governor and incumbent California Attorney General Jerry Brown defeated Republican Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay. The state's debt and deficits were a major issue in the campaign, as the state edged precariously close to bankruptcy.

2010 Race for Governor - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Jerry Brown	53.8%
	Republican Party	Meg Whitman	40.9%
	American Independent Party	Chelene Nightengale	1.7%
	Libertarian Party	Dale Ogden	1.5%
	Green Party	Laura Wells	1.2%
	Peace and Freedom Party	Carlos Alvarez	0.9%
Total Votes			8,085,908

Democratic Gain

Colorado

Democratic incumbent governor Bill Ritter chose to retire after one term, creating an opening for both Democrats and Republicans in the state. Former Republican Congressman and 2008 presidential candidate Tom Tancredo ran as a candidate from the U.S. Constitution Party and finished second in a three-way race.

Colorado Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Hickenlooper	51.1%	915,436
	U.S. Constitution	Tom Tancredo	36.4%	652,376
	Republican	Dan Maes	11.1%	199,792
	Libertarian	Jaimes Brown	0.7%	13,365
	Independent	Jason R. Clark	0.5%	8,601
	Independent	Paul N. Fiorino	0.2%	3,492
	Other	Write-ins	0%	86
Total Votes				1,793,148

Democratic Hold

Connecticut

Republican incumbent governor Jodi Rell was eligible to run for re-election but chose to retire.

Connecticut Governor/Lieutenant Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dan Malloy & Nancy Wyman	51.2%	587,182
	Republican	Tom Foley & Mark Boughton	47.2%	540,970
	Independent	Thomas E. Marsh & Cicero B. Booker, Jr.	1.5%	17,629
Total Votes				1,145,781

Democratic Gain

Florida

Republican incumbent Charlie Crist, who was eligible to run for a second term, chose instead to run for the open Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mel Martinez. In the Republican primary, businessman Rick Scott defeated Attorney General Bill McCollum in a hotly contested primary; he then defeated Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink in the general election.

Florida Governor/Lieutenant Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Scott/Jennifer Carroll	48.9%	2,619,335
	Democratic	Alex Sink/Rod Smith	47.7%	2,557,785
	Independent	Peter L. Allen/John E. Zanni	2.3%	123,831
	No Party Affiliation	C.C. Reed/Larry Waldo, Sr.	0.4%	18,842
	No Party Affiliation	Michael E. Arth/Al Krulick	0.3%	18,644
	No Party Affiliation	Daniel Imperato/Karl Behm	0.3%	13,690
	No Party Affiliation	Farid Khavari/Darcy G. Richardson	0.1%	7,487
	Write-in	Josue Larouse/Valencia St. Louis	0%	121
Total Votes				5,359,735
Election results via Florida Department of State

Republican Hold

Georgia

Two-term Republican incumbent Sonny Perdue was ineligible to seek a third term. Former Democratic governor Roy Barnes, whom Perdue defeated in the 2002 election, ran again and won the Democratic primary. The Republican primary went to a runoff that saw Congressman Nathan Deal defeat Secretary of State Karen Handel, who had been endorsed by Sarah Palin. Deal went on to defeat Barnes in the general election.

Governor of Georgia, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Nathan Deal	53%	1,365,832
	Democratic	Roy E. Barnes	43%	1,107,011
	Libertarian	John H. Monds	4%	103,194
	NA	Write-in	0%	124
Total Votes				2,576,161
Election results via Georgia Secretary of State

Republican Hold

Hawaii

Two-term Republican governor Linda Lingle was ineligible to seek a third term. She was replaced by Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie, who defeated lieutenant governor Duke Aiona in the general election. On November 2, 2010, Neil Abercrombie and Brian Schatz won election as Hawaii Governor and Lt. Governor. They defeated the Aiona/Finnegan (R), Cunningham/Spence (F) and Pollard/Kama (NP) ticket(s) in the general election.

Hawaii Governor and Lt. Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Neil Abercrombie & Brian Schatz	58.2%	222,724
	Republican	Duke Aiona & Lynn Finnegan	41.1%	157,311
	Free Energy	Daniel Cunningham & Deborah Spence	0.3%	1,265
	Nonpartisan	Tom Pollard & Leonard Kama	0.3%	1,263
Total Votes				382,563
Election Results Via: Hawaii Office of Elections

Democratic Gain

Idaho

Republican incumbent Butch Otter easily won a second term.

Idaho Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	C.L. "Butch" Otter Incumbent	59.1%	267,483
	Democratic	Keith Allred	32.9%	148,680
	Independent	Jana M. Kemp	5.9%	26,655
	Libertarian	Ted Dunlap	1.3%	5,867
	Independent	Pro-Life (Marvin Thomas Richardson)	0.9%	3,850
Total Votes				452,535
Election results via Idaho Secretary of State

Republican Hold

Illinois

Incumbent Democratic governor Pat Quinn took office in 2009 following the impeachment and removal of Governor Rod Blagojevich and ran for a full term, narrowly defeating state comptroller Dan Hynes in the Democratic primary. The Republican primary went to a recount between State Senators Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady, in which Brady emerged victorious. In the general election campaign, Brady consistently led Quinn in the polls by significant margins, but the presence of several third-party candidates, as well as Democrats' attacks on Brady's social conservatism, propelled Quinn to a narrow victory.

Illinois Governor and Lt. Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Pat Quinn & Sheila Simon Incumbent	46.8%	1,745,219
	Republican	Bill Brady & Jason Plummer	45.9%	1,713,385
	Independent	Scott Lee Cohen & Baxter Swilley	3.6%	135,705
	Green	Rich Whitney & Don Crawford	2.7%	100,756
	Libertarian	Lex Green & Ed Ruthledge	0.9%	34,681
	None	Write-in	0%	243
Total Votes				3,729,989

Democratic Hold

Iowa

Democratic incumbent governor Chet Culver ran for a second term, facing former four-term Republican governor Terry Branstad in the general election. Long considered vulnerable, Culver faced an uphill battle early on. In the November election, Branstad won by a decisive margin, making Culver the first governor to be defeated for re-election since Republican Norman A. Erbe in 1962.

2010 Iowa gubernatorial general election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	Chet Culver	42.85%
	Republican Party	a Terry E. Branstad	52.15%
	Socialist	Dave Rosenfeld	0.24%
	Libertarian Party	Eric Cooper	1.27%
	Independent	Jonathan Narcisse	1.88%
	Independent	Gregory James Hughes	0.34%
	Other	write-ins	0.25%
	Other	spoilt ballots	1.01%
Total Votes			1,131,434

Republican Gain

Kansas

Kansas Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Sam Brownback	63.3%	530,760
	Democratic	Tom Holland	32.2%	270,166
	Libertarian	Andrew P. Gray	2.7%	22,460
	Reform Party	Ken Cannon	1.8%	15,397
	Write-in	Heath Charles Morris	0%	7
Total Votes				838,790
Election results via Kansas Secretary of State

Republican Gain

Maine

Governor of Maine, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Paul LePage	37.6%	218,065
	Democratic	Elizabeth Mitchell	18.8%	109,387
	Independent	Eliot R. Cutler	35.9%	208,270
	Independent	Shawn H. Moody	5%	28,756
	Independent	Kevin L. Scott	1%	5,664
	Others	Various	0.5%	2,624
	Blanks	-	1.3%	7,772
Total Votes				580,538
Election results via Maine Secretary of State

Republican Gain

Maryland

Maryland Gubernatorial/Lieutenant Gubernatorial General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Martin O'Malley/Anthony G. Brown Incumbent	56.2%	1,044,961
	Republican	Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr./Mary Kane	41.8%	776,319
	Libertarian	Susan J. Gaztanaga/Doug McNeil	0.8%	14,137
	Green	Maria Allwine/Ken Eidel	0.6%	11,825
	Constitution	Eric Delano Knowles/Michael T. Hargadon	0.5%	8,612
	Democratic	Ralph Jaffe (Write-In)	0%	319
	Unaffiliated	Corrogan R. Vaughan/Jim Crawford	0%	179
	Other Write-Ins	Various	0.1%	1,528
Total Votes				1,857,880
Election results via Maryland State Board of Elections

Democratic Hold

Massachusetts

Massachusetts Gubernatorial/Lieutenant Gubernatorial, General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Deval Patrick/Tim Murray Incumbent	48.5%	1,112,283
	Republican	Charles D. Baker/Richard R. Tisei	42.1%	964,866
	Independent	Tim Cahill/Paul Loscocco	8%	184,395
	Green	Jill Stein/Richard P. Purcell	1.4%	32,895
Total Votes				2,294,439
Election results via Massachusetts Secretary of State

Democratic Hold

Michigan

Governor of Michigan, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Snyder	58.1%	1,874,834
	Democratic	Virg Bernero	39.9%	1,287,320
	Green	Harley Mikkelson	0.6%	20,699
	U.S. Taxpayers	Stacey Mathia	0.6%	20,818
	Libertarian	Ken Proctor	0.7%	22,390
	Write-in	Write-in candidates	0%	27
Total Votes				3,226,088

Republican Gain

Minnesota

On November 2, 2010, Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon won election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota. They defeated Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks (R), Tom Horner/James A. Mulder (I), Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann (Grassroots), Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann (Green), Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace (Ecology Democracy) and Linda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson (Resource) in the general election.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Minnesota, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Dayton/Yvonne Prettner Solon	43.6%	919,232
	Republican	Tom Emmer/Annette Meeks	43.2%	910,462
	Independence	Tom Horner/James A. Mulder	11.9%	251,487
	Grassroots Party	Chris Wright/Edwin H. Engelmann	0.4%	7,516
	Green	Farheen Hakeem/Dan Dittmann	0.3%	6,188
	Ecology Democracy Party	Ken Pentel/Erin Wallace	0.3%	6,180
	The Resource Party	Linda S. Eno/Howard B. Hanson	0.2%	4,092
	Write-In	Various	0.1%	1,864
Total Votes				2,107,021
Election results via Minnesota Secretary of State.

Democratic Gain

Nebraska

Governor of Nebraska, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dave Heineman Incumbent	73.9%	360,645
	Democratic	Mike Meister	26.1%	127,343
Total Votes				487,988

Republican Hold

Nevada

Governor of Nevada, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Rory Reid	41.6%	298,171
	Republican	Brian Sandoval	53.4%	382,350
	Green	David Scott Curtis	0.6%	4,437
	Libertarian	Arthur Forrest Lampitt	0.7%	4,672
	Independent	Eugene DiSimone	0.9%	6,403
	Independent	Aaron Y. Honig	0.4%	3,216
	Independent	Floyd Fitzgibbons	0.7%	5,049
	NA	None	1.7%	12,231
Total Votes				716,529

Republican Hold

2010

Governor of New Hampshire, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John H. Lynch Incumbent	52.6%	240,346
	Republican	John Stephen	45%	205,616
	Libertarian	John J. Babiarz	2.2%	10,089
	Nonpartisan	Scattering	0.1%	537
Total Votes				456,588

Democratic Hold

New Mexico

2010 New Mexico gubernatorial general election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	Diane Denish	46.51%
	Republican Party	a Susana Martinez	53.33%
	Other	write-ins	0.17%
Total Votes			601,752

Republican Gain

New York

New York Governor/Lt. Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Andrew Cuomo/Robert Duffy	61%	2,910,876
	Republican	Carl Paladino/Gregory Edwards	32.5%	1,547,857
	Green	Howie Hawkins/Gloria Mattera	1.3%	59,906
	Rent is 2 Damn High	Jimmy McMillan/No candidate	0.9%	41,129
	Libertarian	Warren Redlich/Alden Link	1%	48,359
	Anti-Prohibition	Kristin Davis/Tanya Gendelman	0.4%	20,421
	Freedom	Charles Barron/Eva Doyle	0.5%	24,571
	Blank	-	2.3%	107,823
	Void	-	0.1%	3,963
	Scattering	-	0.1%	4,836
Total Votes				4,769,741
Election results via New York State Board of Elections

Democratic Hold

Ohio

Governor/Lt. Governor of Ohio, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Kasich/Mary Taylor	49%	1,889,186
	Democratic	Ted Strickland/Yvette McGee Brown Incumbent	47%	1,812,059
	Libertarian	Ken Matesz/Margaret Ann Leech	2.4%	92,116
	Green	Dennis Spisak/Anita Rios	1.5%	58,475
	Write-In	David Sargent	0%	633
Total Votes				3,852,469
Election results via Ohio Secretary of State

Republican Gain

Oklahoma

Governor of Oklahoma, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Mary Fallin	60.4%	625,506
	Democratic	Jari Askins	39.6%	409,261
Total Votes				1,034,767
Election results via Oklahoma State Election Board

Republican Gain

Oregon

On November 2, 2010, John Kitzhaber won election to the office of Governor of Oregon. He defeated Chris Dudley, Wes Wagner and Greg Kord in the general election.

Governor of Oregon, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Kitzhaber	49.3%	716,525
	Republican	Chris Dudley	47.8%	694,287
	Constitution	Greg Kord	1.4%	20,475
	Libertarian	Wes Wagner	1.3%	19,048
	Miscellaneous	-	0.2%	3,213
Total Votes				1,453,548
Election results via Oregon Secretary of State.

Democratic Hold

Pennsylvania

Governor/Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Tom Corbett/Jim Cawley	54.5%	2,172,763
	Democratic	Dan Onorato/H. Scott Conklin	45.5%	1,814,788
Total Votes				3,987,551
Election results via Pennsylvania Department of State

Republican Gain

Rhode Island

Governor of Rhode Island, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Independent	Lincoln Chafee	36.1%	123,571
	Republican	John F. Robitaille	33.6%	114,911
	Democratic	Frank T. Caprio	23%	78,896
	Moderate	Ken Block	6.5%	22,146
	Independent	Ronald Algieri	0.2%	793
	Independent	Todd Giroux	0.3%	882
	Independent	Joseph M. Lusi	0.3%	1,091
Total Votes				342,290
Election results Rhode Island Board of Elections

Independent Gain

South Carolina

South Carolina Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Nikki Haley	51.4%	690,525
	Democratic	Vincent A. Sheheen	46.9%	630,534
	Green	Morgan Bruce Reeves	1.5%	20,114
	Write-In	Various	0.2%	3,025
Total Votes				1,344,198
Election results via South Carolina Election Commission

Republican Hold

South Dakota

Governor/Lt. Governor of South Dakota, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Dennis Daugaard/Matthew Michels	61.5%	195,024
	Democratic	Scott Heidepriem/Ben Arndt	38.5%	122,010
Total Votes				317,034
Election results South Dakota Secretary of State

Republican Hold

Tennessee

Governor of Tennessee, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Bill Haslam	65%	1,041,545
	Democratic	Mike McWherter	33.1%	529,851
	Independent	Carl Twofeathers Whitaker	0.4%	6,536
	Independent	Brandon Dodds	0.3%	4,728
	Independent	Bayron Binkley	0.3%	4,663
	Independent	June Griffin	0.2%	2,587
	Independent	Linda K. Perry	0.1%	2,057
	Green	Howard Switzer	0.1%	1,887
	Independent	Samuel D. Duck	0.1%	1,755
	Independent	Thomas Smith, II	0.1%	1,207
	Independent	Toni K. Hall	0.1%	993
	Independent	David Gatchell	0.1%	859
	Independent	Boyce T. McCall	0.1%	828
	Independent	James Reesor	0.1%	809
	Independent	Mike Knois	0%	600
	Independent	Donald R. McFolin	0%	583
	Write-In	Various	0%	61
Total Votes				1,601,549
Election results via U.S. Election Atlas

Republican Gain

Texas

Governor of Texas, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Perry Incumbent	55%	2,737,481
	Democratic	Bill White	42.3%	2,106,395
	Libertarian	Kathie Glass	2.2%	109,211
	Green	Deb Shafto	0.4%	19,516
	Write-In	Andy Barron	0.1%	7,267
Total Votes				4,979,870
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Republican Hold

Utah

On November 2, 2010, Gary Herbert/Greg Bell won re-election to the office of Governor/Lt. Governor of Utah. They defeated Peter Corroon/Sheryl Allen, Farley M. Anderson/Steve Maxfield and W. Andrew McCullough/Aric Cramer, Sr. in the general election.

Governor/Lt. Governor of Utah, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Gary Herbert/Greg Bell Incumbent	64.2%	381,531
	Democratic	Peter Corroon/Sheryl Allen	31.8%	188,911
	Independent	Farley M. Anderson/Steve Maxfield	2%	11,842
	Libertarian	W. Andrew McCullough/Aric Cramer, Sr.	2%	11,723
Total Votes				594,007
Election results via Electionresults.utah.gov (dead link).

Republican Hold

Vermont

On November 2, 2010, Peter Shumlin won election to the office of Governor of Vermont. He defeated Brian E. Dubie (R) and 5 third-party candidates in the general election.

Governor of Vermont, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Peter Shumlin	49.5%	119,543
	Republican	Brian E. Dubie	47.7%	115,212
	Independent	Dennis Steele	0.8%	1,917
	United States Marijuana	Cris Ericson	0.8%	1,819
	Independent	Dan Feliciano	0.6%	1,341
	Independent	Em Peyton	0.3%	684
	Liberty Union	Ben Mitchell	0.2%	429
	Write-In	Various	0.3%	660
Total Votes				241,605
Election results via Vermont Secretary of State.

Democratic Gain

Wisconsin

On November 2, 2010, Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch won election to the office of Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor. They defeated Tom Barrett/Tom Nelson (D) and six third-party candidates in the general election.

Wisconsin Governor/Lt. Governor, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch	52.2%	1,128,941
	Democratic	Tom Barrett/Tom Nelson	46.5%	1,004,303
	Independent	Jim Langer/No candidate	0.5%	10,608
	Libertarian	No candidate/Terry Virgil	0.3%	6,790
	Common Sense	James James/No candidate	0.4%	8,273
	Independent	Leslie Ervin Smetak/David Myron Smetak	0%	19
	Independent	Patricia Messici/No candidate	0%	22
	Independent	Hari Trivedi/No candidate	0%	18
	Scattering	Various	0.1%	1,858
Total Votes				2,160,832
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

Republican Gain

Wyoming

On November 2, 2010, Matt Mead won election to the office of Governor of Wyoming. He defeated Leslie Petersen (D) and Mike Wheeler (L) in the general election.

Governor of Wyoming, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Matt Mead	65.7%	123,780
	Democratic	Leslie Petersen	22.9%	43,240
	Libertarian	Mike Wheeler	2.8%	5,362
	Write-Ins	Various	8.5%	16,081
Total Votes				188,463
Election results via Wyoming Secretary of State.

Republican Gain