Results of U.S. senators running for governor, 1914-present
Since the ratification of the 17th Amendment provided for the direct election of senators in 1913, a total of 64 incumbent or former U.S. Senators ran for their state's governorship across 69 elections. Across those elections, a senator won 27 times (39%), lost the general election 21 times (30%), and was defeated in the primary 20 times (29%). Some senators ran more than once, and some elections had more than one senator running in them.[1]
Since 1914, 29 Democratic senators, 32 Republican senators, and five minor party senators ran for governor.[2] Senators who ran for governor did so after an average of four years after leaving office. The state with the most senators running for governor was Texas, with five senators running in six elections.
Since 1986, 19 senators have run in 20 elections. In this period, a senator has won 13 times (65%), lost the general election four times (20%), and lost the primary three times (15%).
For 2026, three senators, Michael Bennet (D), Marsha Blackburn (R), and Tommy Tuberville (R), have announced candidacies for governor. These candidates are not included in the analysis but will be added after the elections.
For information on governors running for U.S. Senate, click here.
On this page, you will find:
- A list of senators with declared, potential, and declined gubernatorial candidacies in 2026
- A table listing every senator who ran for governor
- A section with charts and maps showing historical trends
2026 gubernatorial elections
In 2026, the following candidates are currently candidates, have received media speculation, or have declined to be a candidate for governor.
| Governor | Party | State | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Bennet | Democratic | Colorado | Link |
| Marsha Blackburn | Republican | Tennessee | Link |
| Tommy Tuberville | Republican | Alabama | Link |
| Governor | Party | State | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa Murkowski | Republican | Alaska | Link |
| Alex Padilla | Democratic | California | Link |
| Governor | Party | State | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherrod Brown | Democratic | Ohio | Link |
| Bill Hagerty | Republican | Tennessee | Link |
| Kamala Harris | Democratic | California | Link |
| Martin Heinrich | Democratic | New Mexico | Link |
| Mike Rounds | Republican | South Dakota | Link |
Historical data
List of previous senators
The following table shows the results of senators running for governor since 1914. If a former governor ran for Senate and later ran for governor again, they would be counted provided their senatorial tenure was the most recent office they held. If you know of any senators that should be included, please click here.
State data
The following table breaks down the number of senators who ran in a state and how often a senator won, lost the general election, lost the primary, or faced a fourth unique outcome, such as withdrawal, death, or write-in campaigns after a primary loss. If a senator ran more than once, their results will be added to the columns but will not affect the number of senators who ran.
| State | Senators ran |
Won | Lost general election |
Lost primary |
Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alaska | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| California | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Colorado | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Illinois | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Indiana | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1[4] |
| Kansas | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maryland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Maine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Montana | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nebraska | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New York | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Ohio | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Texas | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1[5] |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vermont | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tables and maps of senators running for governor
The following tabs show charts and maps highlighting information, such as how many senators ran per decade, win/loss rate, which states have the highest rate of victory, partisan information on senators, and a full breakdown of every possible outcome that is not counted as a win, loss, or primary loss.
The following table shows the number of Senators running for governor by decade
See also
- Gubernatorial elections, 2026
- Results of governors running for U.S. Senate, 1914-present
- Election results, 2024: Results of elected officials seeking other offices
Footnotes
- ↑ Additionally, a Senator lost the primary and lost a subsequent general election campaign via write-in one time and lost via convention vote one time. These results are not counted in this analysis.
- ↑ Two senators ran more than once for different parties.
- ↑ Two senators ran twice for different parties.
- ↑ Lost convention
- ↑ Lost primary, then lost write-in campaign for general election.
