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Gubernatorial battlegrounds, 2020
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Last updated December 9, 2020
Eleven states held elections for governor in 2020. Of those, Ballotpedia identified six as general election battlegrounds: Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Vermont.
Of the six, four were in states with Republican incumbents and two were in states with Democratic incumbents. All but Indiana and Montana changed partisan control in 2016, while all but Indiana and Missouri were carried by the opposite party's presidential candidate that year. All but Indiana and Missouri were also under divided government, with the party opposite to the governor holding majorities in both state legislative chambers.
These battleground races were selected by examining the results of the 2016 presidential election in each state, whether the incumbent was seeking re-election, and whether the governor's office changed partisan control the last time it was up for election. Outside race ratings from the Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales were also considered. For more information on our methodology, click here.
In 2018, Ballotpedia identified 25 gubernatorial battleground races: 16 Republican-held governorships, eight Democratic-held governorships, and one independent-held governorship. Democrats gained control of seven Republican-held governors' offices while Republicans gained the independent-held one.
Battleground list
The following map displays all gubernatorial elections taking place in 2020, shaded by the incumbent's political affiliation. Battleground races are highlighted with brighter shades of blue and red. Hover over a state for more information.
| Battleground gubernatorial elections, 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Incumbent | Open seat? | Margin in previous election[1] | 2016 presidential Margin |
| Indiana |  Eric Holcomb |
No | R+6.0 | R+19.1 |
| Missouri | Mike Parson |
No | R+5.9 | R+18.7 |
| Montana |  Steve Bullock |
Yes | D+3.9 | R+20.5 |
| New Hampshire | Chris Sununu |
No | R+7.0 | D+0.3 |
| North Carolina | Roy Cooper |
No | D+0.2 | R+3.6 |
| Vermont | Phil Scott |
No | R+14.9 | D+26.4 |
Race ratings
The following table compared gubernatorial race ratings from The Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections prior to the November 2020 elections.
Presidential data
The following section compares state-level returns for the 2016 presidential election across the 11 states which held gubernatorial elections in 2020.
- Hillary Clinton (D) carried one state—Vermont—by a margin larger than 20%. At the time of the 2020 election, Vermont's governor was Republican Phil Scott.
- Hillary Clinton (D) carried two states—Delaware and Washington—by margins between 5% and 20%. At the time of the 2020 election, both states had Democratic governors.
- Hillary Clinton (D) carried one state—New Hampshire—by a margin smaller than 5%. At the time of the 2020 election, New Hampshire's governor was Republican Chris Sununu.
- Donald Trump (R) carried one state—North Carolina—by a margin smaller than 5%. At the time of the 2020 election, North Carolina's governor was Democrat Roy Cooper.
- Donald Trump (R) carried three states—Indiana, Missouri, and Utah—by margins between 5% and 20%. At the time of the 2020 election, all three states had Republican governors.
- Donald Trump (R) carried three states—Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia—by margins larger than 20%. At the time of the 2020 election, Montana had a Democratic governor while North Dakota and West Virginia had Republican governors.
Change log
This section lists every change that was made to our battleground list since we published the page in July 2019.
- October 4, 2020: Added Indiana.
- September 11, 2020: Added Missouri and removed West Virginia.
- July 27, 2020: Added West Virginia to the battlegrounds list.
- July 31, 2019: Published initial battlegrounds list with four states: Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Vermont.
See also
- Governor (state executive office)
- Gubernatorial elections, 2020
- State executive official elections, 2020
Footnotes
- ↑ The previous gubernatorial election took place in 2018 in New Hampshire and Vermont and in 2016 in all other states.
