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Election results, 2021: Partisan balance of governors
Control of one governorship changed as a result of the November 2, 2021 elections, leaving Republicans with 28 governorships nationwide and Democrats with 22.
In Virginia, Glenn Youngkin (R) defeated Terry McAuliffe (D), flipping partisan control of the state's governorship. Youngkin is the first Republican to win election as governor of Virginia since Bob McDonnell (R) in 2009.
In New Jersey, incumbent Phil Murphy (D) defeated Jack Ciattarelli (R) and three other candidates to win re-election. Murphy is the first Democrat to win re-election as governor of New Jersey since Brendan Byrne (D) in 1977.
| Change in partisan balance of governors, 2021 elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partisan affiliation | Before | After | Net | |
Democratic  |
23 | 22 | -1 | |
Republican  |
27 | 28 | +1 | |
The map below shows the partisan balance of governors following the 2021 election:
The map below shows the partisan balance of governors going into the 2021 election:
New Jersey
Phil Murphy (D) defeated Jack Ciattarelli (R), Madelyn Hoffman (G), Gregg Mele (L), and Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party) in the election for governor of New Jersey. Murphy received 51.2 percent of the vote and Ciattarelli received 48.0 percent of the vote.
This election (alongside the 2021 legislative elections) helped determine New Jersey's trifecta status for the next two years. Heading into the election, New Jersey was a Democratic trifecta, with Democrats holding the governor's office and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
Between 1992 and 2021, Republicans held the governorship for 16 years and Democrats held the governorship for 14 years. Heading into the 2021 election, the last Democratic governor to win re-election was Brendan Byrne in 1977. Since then, two sitting Democratic governors, Jim Florio (1993) and Jon Corzine (2009), lost re-election to Republican challengers.
In 2017, Murphy defeated then-Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno 56 percent to 42 percent. In that election, Murphy out-raised Guadagno $13.3 million to $3.9 million and out-spent her $9.8 million to $3.3 million. This cycle, based on post-general election reporting, Muprhy outraised Ciattarelli $16.3 million to $15.4 million and outspent Ciattarelli $16.4 million to $15.8 million.
Charles Stile of NorthJersey.com called the election a "race to the bottom" in a September 2021 article, citing Murphy and Ciattarelli's negative attacks targeting the other. Murphy used campaign ads and events to portray Ciattarelli as out of touch with the state's electorate and wanting to impose former President Donald Trump's (R) agenda on the state. Ciattarelli highlighted issues such as taxes and the handling of sexual abuse allegations to frame Murphy as an elected official who does not understand the needs of average New Jerseyites.[1]
In New Jersey, gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial candidates run together on joint tickets. The lieutenant gubernatorial candidates were Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver (D), former state Sen. Diane Allen (R), Heather Warburton (G), Eveline H. Brownstein (L), and Vivian Sahner (Socialist Workers Party). The office was created as the result of a constitutional amendment to the New Jersey State Constitution passed by the voters on November 8, 2005, and effective as of January 17, 2006. The New Jersey Constitution requires that the governor appoint the lieutenant governor to head at least one principal department or agency, though that position may not be the attorney general's office.[2]
At the time of the election, two of the three major race rating outlets rated the general election as Solid Democratic and the third rated it as Likely Democratic.
Virginia
- See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2021
Glenn Youngkin (R) defeated Terry McAuliffe (D) in the general election for governor of Virginia on November 2, 2021, becoming the first Republican to win a statewide election in the state since 2009. Incumbent Gov. Ralph Northam (D) was unable to seek re-election due to term limits.[3]
The Los Angeles Times' Janet Hook called the race "the first big test of strength between parties since Biden was elected" and said it "could set the tone for the 2022 midterm election."[4] The outcome of this election, in addition to the state's House of Delegates elections, also determined Virginia's trifecta status. Virginia became a Democratic trifecta in 2019, for the first time since 1994. Youngkin's victory switched Virginia to a split government.
McAuliffe was governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 and chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 to 2005.[5][6] He emphasized his previous term as governor, saying he "brought 200,000 good paying jobs to the Commonwealth, drove unemployment down, and raised personal income."[7] He compared Youngkin to former President Donald Trump (R), saying, "[Youngkin] is nothing more than a Trump loyalist, dead set on advancing an extreme agenda here in Virginia."[8][9][10]
Youngkin was a former co-CEO and president of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, where he worked from 1995 to 2020.[11] In a Candidate Connection survey submitted to Ballotpedia, Youngkin said, "We need a governor with real-world experience who can create jobs, keep businesses from leaving, put an open-for-business sign on Virginia, and create a rip-roaring economy that lifts all Virginians."[12] Read his full survey responses here. He described McAuliffe as "a recycled, 40-year political insider and career politician who pretends to be a businessman."[13]
Princess Blanding (Liberation) and Paul Davis (I) also ran in the election. Blanding appeared on the general election ballot. Davis ran as a write-in candidate.
At the time of the election, Democrats had won four of the five most recent gubernatorial elections and all thirteen statewide elections in Virginia since 2012. Joe Biden (D) won the state in the 2020 presidential election, receiving 54% of the vote to Donald Trump's (R) 44%.
Election analysis
Hundreds of elections took place in 2021 across the United States, including primary and general elections at the state and local levels and special elections at the federal, state, and local levels. You will find Ballotpedia's research and curation on 2021 elections in the United States below.
- Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection report
- Incumbent win rates by state
- Incumbents defeated in state legislative elections
- Third-party candidates who won more than the margin of victory
- Number of state legislators by party
- Partisan balance of governors
- Results of elected officials seeking other offices
- State government trifectas
- State government triplexes
- State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
- State legislative seats that changed party control
- State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ NorthJersey.com, "'Hit him hard': The contest for NJ governor is already a race to the bottom," September 7, 2021
- ↑ New Jersey Legislature, "New Jersey State Constitution 1947," accessed January 19, 2021
- ↑ Virginia's constitution prevents the governor from running for a second consecutive term, although there is no lifetime term limit, meaning governors can serve non-consecutive terms.
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Trump-Biden rematch by proxy? A governor’s race is shaping up as a key post-Trump test," May 24, 2021
- ↑ Leaders Magazine, "Financing the Road to the White House," July 2007
- ↑ VoteSmart, "Terry McAuliffe," accessed April 6, 2021
- ↑ Terry McAuliffe's 2021 campaign website, "Meet Terry," accessed June 18, 2021
- ↑ Blue Virginia, "Video: Ahead of Democratic Gubernatorial Debate, Terry for Virginia Releases New Digital Ad Calling Out Extremist Glenn Youngkin for Running on Trumpism," May 20, 2021
- ↑ YouTube, "Running for You," June 9, 2021
- ↑ Facebook, "Terry McAuliffe," June 14, 2021
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Glenn Youngkin," accessed April 5, 2021
- ↑ ’’Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey submitted on Feb. 19, 2021.’’
- ↑ Facebook, "Glenn Youngkin," June 8, 2021
