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Gubernatorial elections, 2015
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| State Executive Office Elections |
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| Gubernatorial Elections |
| 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 |
| Lt. Governor Elections |
| 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 |
| Attorney General Elections |
| 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 |
| Secretary of State Elections |
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The governor, or chief executive officer of the state, is the only state executive office other than the attorney general that exists in every state in the country. But unlike the attorney general, which is the state's chief legal officer and is elected in only 43 states, the governor is directly elected in all 50. This makes the governor truly unique among state executives from an electoral perspective.
Three states, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi, were scheduled to hold gubernatorial elections in 2015. The last regularly scheduled gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2011.
The three gubernatorial seats up for election in 2015 were rated as follows*:
- Kentucky Governor, Incumbent Steve Beshear (Democrat - term-limited)
- Kentucky rating - Toss-up
- Louisiana Governor, Incumbent Bobby Jindal (Republican - term-limited)
- Louisiana rating - Likely Republican
- Mississippi Governor, Incumbent Phil Bryant (Republican - running)
- Mississippi rating - Safe Republican
*Note: Ratings are based on projections found in Governing, Larry Sabato, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report and The Cook Political Report; they were updated periodically throughout the election season.
Fresh off the 2014 general election in which a handful of governor seats—including Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland—flipped from blue to red, the scales were tipped against the Democrats for the relatively small three-seat 2015 gubernatorial election cycle. Crushing Democratic losses—or Republican triumphs, alternatively—on November 4, 2014, pushed the Republicans into a double-digit lead over Democrats for control of the 50 governor's offices.
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Of the 36 states that held gubernatorial elections in 2014, the GOP won 24, the Democrats won 11 and one, in Alaska, flipped from Republican to independent, yielding a net gain of two for Republicans and net loss of three for Democrats. After the various turnovers, the partisan balance heading into the 2015 elections was 31 to 18 in favor of Republicans. |
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Democrats hoped to make gains in the 2015 elections. However, Republicans held two of the three gubernatorial seats up for election in 2015, while the sole Democratic incumbent, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, was barred by term limits from running for re-election. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) was also term-limited. First-term Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R) was seeking re-election.[1][2]
Election information
| Gubernatorial Election Information, 2015 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Trifecta Status (before) | Incumbent | Incumbent Party | Incumbent Running? | 2015 Winner | Partisan Switch? | Trifecta Status (after)? | |
| Kentucky | Divided government |  Steve Beshear |
 Democratic |
No (termed-out) |
Matt Bevin | Yes | Divided government | |
| Louisiana | Current trifecta for Republicans |  Bobby Jindal |
 Republican |
No (termed-out) |
John Edwards | Yes | Divided government | |
| Mississippi | Current trifecta for Republicans |  Phil Bryant |
Republican |
Yes[1][2] | Phil Bryant | No | Current trifecta for Republicans | |
Kentucky
Democrat Steve Beshear was ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits.[3] Beshear was first elected in 2007 and defeated Republican challenger David Williams by 20.4 percent in 2011.
Race tracking
| Race Rankings - Governor of Kentucky (Open seat) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |
| The Cook Political Report | Toss-up | |
| Governing | Toss-up | |
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean Republican | |
| The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report | Toss-up | |
| Overall call | Toss-up | |
| Note: Ratings were based on projections found in Governing, Larry Sabato, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, and The Cook Political Report where available. They were updated periodically throughout the election season. | ||
General election
Jack Conway/Sannie Overly[4][5]
Matt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton[6]
Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis[7]
(Write-in) Blackii Whyte/Philip Jacobs[8]
Lost in primary
Geoff Young/Johnathan Masters[9][10]
Will T. Scott/Rodney Coffey[11]
Hal Heiner/K.C. Crosbie[12][13]
James Comer Jr./Chris McDaniel[14][15]
Incumbents
Note: Beshear was unable to run for re-election due to term limits, while Luallen indicated that she would not seek election in 2015.
Withdrawn
Lieutenant governor
Election results
Primary election
Democratic
Attorney General Jack Conway and running mate Sannie Overly won the Democratic nomination against Geoff Young and Jonathan Masters in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2015.
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Jack Conway/Sannie Overly |
78.8% | 140,627 | ||
| Geoff Young/Johnathan Masters | 21.2% | 37,887 | ||
| Total Votes | 178,514 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections. | ||||
Republican
Matt Bevin and running mate Jenean M. Hampton won the Republican nomination in a narrow 83 vote victory over James Comer Jr. and Chris McDaniel in the Republican primary on May 19, 2015.
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Republican Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Matt Bevin/Jenean Hampton |
32.9% | 70,479 | ||
| James Comer Jr./Chris McDaniel | 32.9% | 70,396 | ||
| Hal Heiner/K.C. Crosbie | 27.1% | 57,948 | ||
| Will T. Scott/Rodney Coffey | 7.2% | 15,364 | ||
| Total Votes | 214,187 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky State Board of Elections. | ||||
General election
Republican Matt Bevin and his running mate, Jenean M. Hampton, defeated Attorney General Jack Conway and independent Drew Curtis.[17]
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matt Bevin/Jenean M. Hampton |
52.5% | 511,771 | |
| Democrat | Jack Conway/Sannie Overly | 43.8% | 426,827 | |
| Independent | Drew Curtis/Heather Curtis | 3.7% | 35,627 | |
| Total Votes | 974,225 | |||
| Election results via Kentucky Secretary of State | ||||
Margin of victory
| Margin of victory analysis (top four offices), 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 | |
| Kenucky Governor/Lieutenant Governor | 20.4 | |
17.4 | |
10 |
| |
| Kentucky Attorney General | 10.1 | |
21 | |
0.6 |
| |
| Kentucky Secretary of State | 21.3 | |
14.2 | |
5 |
| |
Louisiana
- See also: Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
Republican Bobby Jindal was ineligible to run for re-election because of term limits.[18] Jindal was first elected in 2007 and won re-election in 2011 by 47.9 percent over Democratic challenger Tara Hollis and eight other challengers.
Race tracking
| Race Rankings - Governor of Louisiana (Open seat) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |
| The Cook Political Report | Likely Republican | |
| Governing | Likely Republican | |
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely Republican | |
| The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report | Likely Republican | |
| Overall call | Likely Republican | |
| Note: Ratings were based on projections found in Governing, Larry Sabato, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, and The Cook Political Report where available. They were updated periodically throughout the election season. | ||
General election
John Edwards - Louisiana State Representative
David Vitter - United States Senator
Defeated in primary
Cary Deaton
S L Simpson
Scott Angelle
Jay Dardenne
Eric Paul Orgeron
Beryl Billiot
Jeremy "JW" Odom
Withdrawn
Declined to run
John Neely Kennedy - Ran for re-election as state treasurer[21][22]
Jason Williams[23]
Note: Governor Bobby Jindal was not eligible for re-election in 2015 due to term limits.
Election results
Primary election
No candidate received an outright majority in the blanket primary election. The two candidates with the most votes, who qualified for the November runoff election, were John Bel Edwards (D) and David Vitter (R).[24]
| Governor of Louisiana, Blanket Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Bel Edwards |
39.9% | 444,061 | |
| Republican | David Vitter |
23% | 256,105 | |
| Republican | Scott Angelle | 19.3% | 214,907 | |
| Republican | Jay Dardenne | 15% | 166,553 | |
| Democratic | Cary Deaton | 1.1% | 11,750 | |
| Democratic | S L Simpson | 0.7% | 7,411 | |
| Independent | Beryl Billiot | 0.5% | 5,690 | |
| Independent | Jeremy "JW" Odom | 0.4% | 4,755 | |
| Independent | Eric Paul Orgeron | 0.2% | 2,244 | |
| Total Votes | 1,113,476 | |||
| Election Results Louisiana Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
The general election for Louisiana governor between David Vitter (R) and John Bel Edwards (D) was held on November 21, 2015. Edwards defeated his Republican opponent.
| Governor of Louisiana, Run-off election, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Bel Edwards |
56.1% | 646,860 | |
| Republican | David Vitter | 43.9% | 505,929 | |
| Total Votes | 1,152,789 | |||
| Election Results via the Louisiana Secretary of State. | ||||
Margin of victory
| Margin of victory analysis (top four offices), 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 | |
| Louisiana Governor | 47.9 | |
36.4 | |
3.9 |
| |
| Louisiana Lieutenant Governor | 6.5 | |
26.3 | |
33.1 |
| |
| Louisiana Attorney General | - | |
33.2 | |
7.1 |
| |
| Louisiana Secretary of State | 0.9 | |
32.1 | |
49.9 |
| |
Note: A "-" indicates a race where only one candidate contested the seat.
Mississippi
- See also: Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2015
Republican Phil Bryant was eligible for re-election in 2015. Bryant was first elected in 2011, when he defeated Democratic challenger Johnny DuPree by 22 percent.
Race tracking
| Race Rankings - Governor of Mississippi | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race Tracker | Race Rating | |
| The Cook Political Report | Safe Republican | |
| Governing | Safe Republican | |
| Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball | Safe Republican | |
| The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report | Safe Republican | |
| Overall call | Safe Republican | |
| Note: Ratings were based on projections found in Governing, Larry Sabato, The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, and The Cook Political Report where available. They were updated periodically throughout the election season. | ||
General election
Phil Bryant (Incumbent) 
[25][1][2][26]
Robert Gray[25][26]
Shawn O'Hara[25][26]
Lost in the primary
Mitch Young[25][26]
Valerie Short[25][26]
Vicki Slater[25][26]
Election results
Primary election
Democratic
Gray defeated Slater and Short in the Democratic primary election; he faced incumbent Phil Bryant (R) and challenger Shawn O'Hara (I) in the general election.[26][27]
| Governor of Mississippi Democratic Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Robert Gray |
50.8% | 152,087 | ||
| Vicki Slater | 30.4% | 91,104 | ||
| Valerie Short | 18.8% | 56,177 | ||
| Total Votes | 299,368 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State. | ||||
Republican
Incumbent Bryant defeated Young in the Republican primary. Bryant defeated challengers Robert Gray (D) and Shawn O'Hara (I) in the general election.[26]
| Governor of Mississippi Republican Primary, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Phil Bryant |
91.8% | 254,779 | ||
| Mitch Young | 8.2% | 22,628 | ||
| Total Votes | 277,407 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Governor of Mississippi, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Robert Gray | 32.4% | 234,858 | |
| Republican | Phil Bryant Incumbent |
66.2% | 480,399 | |
| Reform | Shawn O'Hara | 1.4% | 9,950 | |
| Total Votes | 725,207 | |||
| Election results via Mississippi Secretary of State | ||||
Margin of victory
| Margin of victory analysis (top four offices), 2003-2011 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | 2011 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2011 | 2007 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2007 | 2003 margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate, 2003 | |
| Mississippi Governor | 22 | |
15.8 | |
6.7 |
| |
| Mississippi Lieutenant Governor | 60.7 | |
17.1 | |
23.9 |
| |
| Mississippi Attorney General | - | |
19.7 | |
35.5 |
| |
| Mississippi Secretary of State | 22.1 | |
16.5 | |
47.6 |
| |
Note: A "-" indicates a race where only one candidate contested the seat.
Recent news
Kentucky gubernatorial election
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kentucky Governor Election 2015. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Louisiana gubernatorial election
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louisiana Governor Election 2015. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Mississippi gubernatorial election
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Mississippi Governor Election 2015. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
Additional reading
- Governing: Democrats Have More Seats to Defend in 2015-2016 Governors Races Last updated Jan. 23, 2015
- The Cook Political Report: 2015/2016 Governors Race Ratings Last updated Dec. 12, 2014
- Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball: 2016 Governor Ratings Last updated April 1, 2014
- Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report: Gubernatorial Ratings Last updated Feb. 20, 2015
See also
- State executive official elections, 2015
- Governor
- Kentucky gubernatorial election, 2015
- Louisiana gubernatorial election, 2015
- Mississippi gubernatorial election, 2015
- Kentucky state executive official elections, 2015
- Louisiana state executive official elections, 2015
- Mississippi state executive official elections, 2015
External links
- Office of the Governor of Kentucky
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
- Office of the Governor of Louisiana
- Office of the Governor of Mississippi
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Clarion Ledger, "Gov. Bryant outlines priorities in State of the State," January 20, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Gulflive.com, "Q&A with Phil Bryant: Mississippi governor discusses 2015 agenda in AP interview," January 3, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Gov. Steve Beshear Urges Fellow Democrats To Take Obamacare 'And Run With It'," June 24, 2014
- ↑ Lexington Herald-Leader, "Jack Conway announces bid for governor, with state Rep. Sannie Overly as running mate," May 6, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Jack Conway, Candidate for Governor," January 12, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Matt Bevin, Candidate for Governor," January 27, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Drew Curtis, Candidate for Governor," August 10, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Blackii Effing Whyte, Candidate for Governor," May 15, 2015
- ↑ Associated Press, "Primary election results," accessed May 20, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Johnathan D. Masters, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor," January 27, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Will T. Scott, Candidate for Governor," January 13, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Hal Heiner, Candidate for Governor," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Lexington Herald-Leader, "Republican Hal Heiner enters gubernatorial race; Lexington running mate won't resign from RNC," March 4, 2014
- ↑ Cincinnati.com, "Election in 2015 shaping up to be big for NKY," November 11, 2014
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for James R. Comer, Candidate for Governor," January 22, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Information for Cherokee Schill, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor," January 27, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Secretary of State, "Governor and Lieutenant Governor," accessed November 4, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Term limits have Louisiana politicians searching for new elections," October 20, 2013
- ↑ Taylor did not appear on the list of qualified candidates following the filing deadline.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed September 14, 2015
- ↑ The Advocate, "Treasurer John Kennedy Looks at AG Race," December 10, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "State Treasurer John Kennedy will seek reelection, not run for governor or attorney general," April 9, 2015
- ↑ Danny Monteverde, 4WWL, "N.O. Councilman Jason Williams will not run for governor," August 20, 2015
- ↑ The Lens, "Elections 2015," accessed October 25, 2015
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 Mississippi Secretary of State, "2015 Candidate Qualifying List," accessed July 24, 2015
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.7 Associated Press, "Mississippi - Summary Vote Results," August 04, 2015
- ↑ Yahoo! News, "Truck driver wins Dem nomination for Mississippi governor," November 5, 2015
