Republicans gain ground in governorships, down-ballot state executive offices in 2016 elections
November 11, 2016
By the State Executives Team
On November 8, 2016, a total of 93 state executive seats were scheduled for election in 23 states. All 13 types of executive offices had an election in at least one state. Twelve states elected governors, including a special election in Oregon, and ten states elected attorneys general. Republicans won 56 of the 93 seats up for election as of November 11—though this number may change as some races have not been called in Washington due to the mail-in ballot system and in North Carolina due to the extremely close outcome of the gubernatorial election.
Top-ballot office results
| U.S. governor elections 2008-2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total races | Won
|
Won
|
| 2008[1] | 11 | 7 | 3 |
| 2010 | 37 | 13 | 23 |
| 2012 | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| 2014 | 36 | 10 | 25 |
| 2016 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
Gubernatorial elections
- See also: Gubernatorial elections, 2016
Heading into the November 2016 elections, Republicans held 31 governor seats, Democrats held 18, and independents held one. Of the 12 governor seats up for election in 2016, eight were held by Democrats that were elected to four-year terms during the 2012 presidential election cycle.[2]
Republicans picked up three governorships after the 2016 elections in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Missouri. Democrats may have flipped the governor's seat in North Carolina—currently held by Republican Pat McCrory—but the race was too close to call on election night and results will not be finalized until the county canvasses on November 18. Democrat Roy Cooper declared a victory on election night with a one-tenth of a percentage point lead; however, McCrory did not concede the race.[3]
The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties pertaining to the state executive office of governor. For other state executive offices, click here.
| Partisan Breakdown: Governors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 18 | 16 | |
| Republican Party | 31 | 33 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
- See also: Lieutenant Governor elections, 2016
There were nine lieutenant gubernatorial seats on the ballot in 2016. These seats were up for election in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, and Washington. Democrat/Progressive David Zuckerman won the lieutenant governor election in Vermont, which was open due to incumbent Phil Scott’s successful bid for the governorship.
The chart below is a breakdown of the political parties pertaining to the state executive office of lieutenant governor. For other state executive offices, click here.
| Partisan Breakdown: Lieutenant Governors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 13 | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 32 | 31 | |
| Total | 45 | 45 | |
Attorney general elections
- See also: Attorney General elections, 2016
Of the 10 attorney general seats up for election, only one changed hands. Missouri's race was open due to Democratic incumbent Chris Koster's unsuccessful run for the governorship. Law professor Josh Hawley (R) won the open election in Missouri, marking the first time the seat has been in Republican hands since 1993.
| Partisan Breakdown: Attorneys General | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 22 | 21 | |
| Republican Party | 25 | 26 | |
| Nonpartisan | 2 | 2 | |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
Secretary of State
- See also: Secretary of State elections, 2016
Five of the eight secretary of state seats up for election in 2016 changed hands, with a net gain of three seats for Republicans. The GOP picked up seats in open elections in Missouri, Montana, and Oregon, and unseated the incumbent Democrat in West Virginia. The win in Oregon was a significant victory for the party as the state is currently under Democratic trifecta control and the seat had not been held by a Republican since 1980. Democrats picked up the open seat in New Mexico, which held a special election after the mid-term resignation of incumbent Dianna Duran (R) due to criminal charges. At the time her election in 2010, Duran was the first Republican to win the seat in New Mexico since 1930.
| Office | Democratic
|
Republican
|
 Independent
|
Nonpartisan | Total seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secretary of State | 21 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 47 |
| Counts current as of November 2025. If you see an error, please email us. | |||||
Partisan analysis
Trifecta changes
Heading into the 2016 elections, Republicans had trifecta control of state government in four of the 12 states holding gubernatorial elections in 2016: Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Utah. Democrats had trifecta control in three states: Delaware, Vermont, and Oregon. Trifecta control requires that one party holds the governorship in addition to a majority in the State Senate and House of Representatives.
Republicans gained trifectas in New Hampshire and Missouri after winning the governorships in those states. The party also ended a five-year Democratic trifecta when it won the governorship in Vermont.
Down-ballot elections potential indicators of statewide partisan shifts
Incumbency has a greater effect than party affiliation on elections for top-ballot state executive offices; party affiliation becomes a greater factor in elections for state executive offices further down the ballot. This suggests that down-ballot offices—in states where they are elected—may be harbingers of statewide shifts in partisan affiliation.
The Republican Party also saw significant down-ballot gains in 2016's state executive races. In Missouri, Republicans won all five seats up for election, four of which had previously been held by Democrats. Republican Eric Greitens' victory in the gubernatorial race won the party trifecta control of the state, which went to Donald Trump in the presidential election. Democrats retained control of the governorship in West Virginia, but Republicans managed to unseat two incumbent Democrats—secretary of state and agriculture commissioner—and won the election for state auditor for the first time since 1928. Republicans also picked up Washington's treasurer seat, which the party also hadn't held since 1957. In Oregon, Republicans won the secretary of state seat for the first time in three decades.
Republican down-ballot gains in traditionally blue states, such as Oregon and Washington, may indicate that the one-party rule in those states is weakening. The results in some former swing states, such as Missouri and West Virginia, show increasing electoral strength for Republicans. However, presidential election years tend to see aggregate gains for the party of the winning presidential candidate and Republican down-ballot gains in blue states might have simply been reflective of this trend.
See also
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2016 elections: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, “Election Map 2008,” accessed February 13, 2016
- ↑ With the exception of Oregon, whose current Gov. Kate Brown (D) succeeded Democrat John Kitzhaber after his resignation from office.
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The North Carolina governor’s race still isn’t over. And it’s about to get even uglier," November 10, 2016
