2014 United States gubernatorial elections
The 2014 United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 4, 2014 in 36 states and three territories, concurrent with other elections during the 2014 United States elections.
The Republicans defended 22 seats, compared to the Democrats' 14. The Republicans gained open Democratic-held seats in Massachusetts, [|Maryland], and Arkansas, and defeated incumbent Pat Quinn in Illinois, while holding open seats in Arizona, Nebraska and Texas. The only Republican losses were incumbents Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania, who lost to Democrat Tom Wolf, and Sean Parnell of Alaska, who lost to independent Bill Walker. This marked the first time since 1846 that an incumbent governor running for re-election in Pennsylvania lost. Democrats held their open seat in Rhode Island, as well as Hawaii, where incumbent Governor Neil Abercrombie was defeated in the primary.
All totaled, the Republicans had a net gain of two seats, the Democrats had a net loss of three seats, and an independent picked up one seat. Due to no candidate receiving 50% of the vote, the Vermont General Assembly cast their votes for governor in January 2015, re-electing Governor Peter Shumlin.
As a result of these races, Republican Terry Branstad was re-elected to his sixth full 4-year term as governor of Iowa, and thus became the longest-serving governor in U.S. history.
Race summary
States
Data from The New York Times| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates |
| Alabama | Robert Bentley | Republican | Re-elected 63.6%. | √ Robert Bentley, 63.6% Parker Griffith, 36.4% |
| Alaska | Sean Parnell | Republican | Incumbent lost re-election. Independent gain | √ Bill Walker Sean Parnell J. R. Myers Carolyn Clift |
| Arizona | Jan Brewer | Republican | Incumbent term-limited. Republican hold | √ Doug Ducey Fred DuVal John Mealer Barry Hess |
| Arkansas | Mike Beebe | Democratic | Incumbent term-limited. Republican gain | √ Asa Hutchinson Mike Ross Josh Drake Frank Gilbert |
| California | Jerry Brown | Democratic | Re-elected 58.7% | √ Jerry Brown Neel Kashkari |
| [|Colorado] | John Hickenlooper | Democratic | Re-elected 48.4% | √ John Hickenlooper Bob Beauprez Matthew Hess Mike Dunafon Paul Fiorino Jim Rundberg Harry Hempy |
| [|Connecticut] | Dan Malloy | Democratic | Re-elected 50.9% | √ Dan Malloy Tom Foley Joe Visconti Lee Whitnum |
| [|Florida] | Rick Scott | Republican | Re-elected 48.2% | √ Rick Scott Charlie Crist Adrian Wyllie Joe Allen Glenn Burkett Farid Khavari |
| Georgia | Nathan Deal | Republican | Re-elected 52.8% | √ Nathan Deal Jason Carter Andrew Hunt |
| Hawaii | Neil Abercrombie | Democratic | Incumbent lost renomination. Democratic hold | √ David Ige Duke Aiona Mufi Hannemann Jeff Davis |
| Idaho | Butch Otter | Republican | Re-elected 53.5% | √ Butch Otter A.J. Balukoff Steve Pankey John Bujak Jill Humble Pro-Life |
| Illinois | Pat Quinn | Democratic | Incumbent lost re-election. Republican gain | √ Bruce Rauner Pat Quinn Chad Grimm |
| Iowa | Terry Branstad | Republican | Re-elected 59.1% | √ Terry Branstad Jack Hatch Lee Hieb David Rosenfeld |
| [|Kansas] | Sam Brownback | Republican | Re-elected 50% | √ Sam Brownback Paul Davis Keen Umbehr |
| Maine | Paul LePage | Republican | Re-elected 48.2% | √ Paul LePage Mike Michaud Eliot Cutler |
| Maryland | Martin O'Malley | Democratic | Incumbent term-limited. Republican gain | √ Larry Hogan Anthony Brown Shawn Quinn |
| Massachusetts | Deval Patrick | Democratic | Incumbent retired. Republican gain | √ Charlie Baker Martha Coakley Evan Falchuk Scott Lively Jeff McCormick |
| Michigan | Rick Snyder | Republican | Re-elected 51% | √ Rick Snyder Mark Schauer Mary Buzuma Paul Homeniuk Robin Sanders |
| Minnesota | Mark Dayton | Democratic–Farmer–Labor | Re-elected 50.1% | √ Mark Dayton, 50.1% Jeff Johnson, 44.5% Hannah Nicollet, 2.9% Chris Wright, 1.6% Chris Holbrook, 0.9% |
| Nebraska | Dave Heineman | Republican | Incumbent term-limited. Republican hold | √ Pete Ricketts Chuck Hassebrook Mark Elworth |
| Nevada | Brian Sandoval | Republican | Re-elected 70.6% | √ Brian Sandoval Robert Goodman David VanDerBeek |
| [|New Hampshire] | Maggie Hassan | Democratic | Re-elected 52.6% | √ Maggie Hassan Walt Havenstein |
| New Mexico | Susana Martinez | Republican | Re-elected 57.3% | √ Susana Martinez Gary King |
| New York | Andrew Cuomo | Democratic | Re-elected 54% | √ Andrew Cuomo Rob Astorino Howie Hawkins Michael McDermott |
| Ohio | John Kasich | Republican | Re-elected 63.8% | √ John Kasich Ed FitzGerald Anita Rios |
| Oklahoma | Mary Fallin | Republican | Re-elected 55.8% | √ Mary Fallin Joe Dorman Richard Prawdzienski |
| Oregon | John Kitzhaber | Democratic | Re-elected 49.5% | √ John Kitzhaber Dennis Richardson Paul Grad Aaron Auer |
| Pennsylvania | Tom Corbett | Republican | Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain | √ Tom Wolf Tom Corbett |
| Rhode Island | Lincoln Chafee | Democratic | Incumbent retired. Democratic hold | √ Gina Raimondo Allan Fung Bob Healey Kate Fletcher Leon Kayarian |
| South Carolina | Nikki Haley | Republican | Re-elected 56% | √ Nikki Haley Vincent Sheheen Steve French Morgan Reeves Tom Ervin |
| South Dakota | Dennis Daugaard | Republican | Re-elected 70.5% | √ Dennis Daugaard Susan Wismer Mike Myers |
| Tennessee | Bill Haslam | Republican | Re-elected 70.3% | √ Bill Haslam, 70.3% Charlie Brown, 22.8% John Jay Hooker, 2.3% Shaun Crowell, 2.0% Isa Infante, 1.4% Daniel Lewis, 0.6% Steve Coburn, 0.6% |
| Texas | Rick Perry | Republican | Incumbent retired. Republican hold | √ Greg Abbott Wendy Davis Brandon Parmer Kathie Glass |
| Vermont | Peter Shumlin | Democratic | After no candidate received over 50% of the popular vote, the election was decided in January 2015 by the Vermont General Assembly. | √ Peter Shumlin, 46.4% Scott Milne, 45.3% Dan Feliciano, 4.4% Emily Peyton, 1.7% Pete Diamondstone, 0.9% Bernard Peters, 0.7% Cris Ericson, 0.6% |
| [|Wisconsin] | Scott Walker | Republican | Re-elected, 52.3% | √ Scott Walker, 52.3% Mary Burke, 46.6% Robert Burke, 0.8% |
| Wyoming | Matt Mead | Republican | Re-elected, 62.5% | √ Matt Mead, 62.5% Pete Gosar, 28.9% Don Wills, 6.1% Dee Cozzens, 2.5% |
Territories
| Territory | Incumbent | Party | Status | Candidates |
| Guam | Eddie Calvo | Republican | Re-elected, 63.7% | Eddie Calvo Carl Gutierrez |
| Virgin Islands | John de Jongh | Democratic | Independent gain | √ Kenneth Mapp Donna Christensen Mona Barnes Soraya Diase Coffelt Sheila Scullion |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Eloy Inos | Republican | Re-elected, 56.9% | Eloy Inos Edward Deleon Guerrero Juan Babauta Heinz Hofschneider |
Close Races
States where the margin of victory was under 5%:- Florida, 1.0%
- Vermont, 1.3%
- Massachusetts, 1.9%
- Alaska, 2.2%
- Connecticut, 2.5%
- Colorado, 3.3%
- Kansas, 3.7%
- Maryland, 3.8%
- Illinois, 3.9%
- Michigan, 4.0%
- Rhode Island, 4.5%
- Maine, 4.8%
- New Hampshire, 5.0%
- Minnesota, 5.6%
- Wisconsin, 5.7%
- Oregon, 5.8%
- Georgia, 7.8%
- Pennsylvania, 9.8%
Latest predictions
Competitive seats
| State | PVI | Incumbent | Last race | Cook Nov. 3, 2014 | Daily Kos Elections Nov. 3, 2014 | Governing Oct. 28, 2014 | Real Clear Politics Nov. 2, 2014 | Rothenberg Nov. 3, 2014 | Sabato Nov. 3, 2014 | Median prediction | Winner |
| Alaska | Sean Parnell | 59.1% | Leans I | Walker | |||||||
| Arizona | Jan Brewer | 54.3% | Ducey | ||||||||
| Arkansas | Mike Beebe | 64.4% | Hutchinson | ||||||||
| Colorado | John Hickenlooper | 51.1% | Leans D | Hickenlooper | |||||||
| Connecticut | Dan Malloy | 49.5% | Malloy | ||||||||
| Florida | Rick Scott | 48.9% | Scott | ||||||||
| Georgia | Nathan Deal | 53.0% | Deal | ||||||||
| Hawaii | Neil Abercrombie | 57.8% | Ige | ||||||||
| Illinois | Pat Quinn | 46.8% | Rauner | ||||||||
| Kansas | Sam Brownback | 63.3% | Brownback | ||||||||
| Maine | Paul LePage | 37.6% | LePage | ||||||||
| Maryland | Martin O'Malley | 56.2% | Hogan | ||||||||
| Massachusetts | Deval Patrick | 48.4% | Baker | ||||||||
| Michigan | Rick Snyder | 58.1% | Snyder | ||||||||
| New Hampshire | Maggie Hassan | 54.6% | Hassan | ||||||||
| Rhode Island | Lincoln Chafee | 36.1% | Raimondo | ||||||||
| South Carolina | Nikki Haley | 51.4% | Haley | ||||||||
| Wisconsin | Scott Walker | 53.1% | Walker |
Safe seats
Retired and term-limited Republican incumbents
Jan Brewer (Arizona)
was term-limited in 2014 despite only serving one full term, as Arizona state law limits office holders to two consecutive terms, regardless of whether they are full or partial terms. In November 2012, Brewer declared she was looking into what she called "ambiguity" in Arizona's term-limit law to seek a second full four-year term.On March 12, 2014, Brewer announced she would not seek re-election to another four-year term, which would have required a "longshot court challenge" to the Arizona Constitution.
Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, State Treasurer of Arizona Doug Ducey, State Senator Al Melvin, former Go Daddy Executive Vice President Christine Jones, and former County attorney of Maricopa County Andrew Thomas sought the Republican nomination. Ducey won.
Fred DuVal, former Chairman of the Arizona Board of Regents won the Democratic nomination.
Ducey won the election.
Dave Heineman (Nebraska)
was term-limited in 2014.Former Republican Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy had been endorsed by Heineman, but Sheehy exited the race due to a report regarding a series of inappropriate phone calls he had made to women who were not his wife. State Senators Tom Carlson, Charlie Janssen, and Beau McCoy also ran for the Republican nomination. Other potential Republican candidates include Auditor of Public Accounts Mike Foley and businessman Pete Ricketts. The nomination was won by Ricketts.
Executive Director of the Center for Rural Affairs Chuck Hassebrook ran for the Democratic nomination. State Senator Annette Dubas was also running, but she has withdrawn, leaving Hassebrook the only Democratic candidate. Hassebrook won the nomination.
Ricketts won the election.
Rick Perry (Texas)
was eligible to run for re-election, but chose not to seek a fourth term on July 8, 2013. Perry was re-elected to a third term with 55.1% of the vote in 2010.Attorney General Greg Abbott was the Republican Party nominee, having defeated perennial candidate Larry Kilgore, Lisa Fritsch and former Univision personality Miriam Martinez in the Republican primary.
State Senator Wendy Davis was the Democratic Party nominee.
Abbott won the election with 59.3% of the vote.
Retired and term-limited Democratic incumbents
Mike Beebe (Arkansas)
was term-limited in 2014. Former Representative Mike Ross is the Democratic nominee, while former Representative Asa Hutchinson is the Republican nominee.Hutchinson won the election.
Martin O'Malley (Maryland)
was term-limited in 2014.O'Malley endorsed Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown to succeed him. Attorney General Douglas Gansler and State Delegate Heather Mizeur sought the Democratic nomination as well.
On the Republican side, candidates had included Harford County Executive David R. Craig, Chairman of Change Maryland and former Maryland Secretary of Appointments Larry Hogan, Delegate Ron George, former Charles County Republican Central Committee Chairman Charles Lollar, and 2012 U.S. Senate candidate Brian Vaeth.
On June 24, Brown and Hogan won their respective primaries. On November 4, Hogan was elected as governor.
Deval Patrick (Massachusetts)
was eligible to run for re-election, but decided not to seek a third term.State Senator and Cape Air CEO Dan Wolf was running for the Democratic nomination, but withdrew after the Ethics Commission ruled his co-ownership of Cape Air violated state conflict of interest rules.
Democratic candidates included PAREXEL executive Joseph Avellone, former Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Donald Berwick, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Treasurer Steve Grossman, and former Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs Juliette Kayyem. Coakley won the nomination.
Republican candidates included former Massachusetts cabinet official and 2010 nominee Charlie Baker, and TEA Party member and Shrewsbury small businessman Mark Fisher.
Baker won the nomination.
Lincoln Chafee (Rhode Island)
retired after one term in office. Chafee was elected with 36.1% in a competitive three-way race in 2010 in which he ran as an independent. He became a Democrat in May 2013, promoting speculation he would run for a second term, but later announced that he would not run for re-election on September 4, 2013.Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, State Treasurer Gina Raimondo, and former United States Department of Education official Clay Pell ran for the nomination. Raimondo won the primary election.
Cranston Mayor Allan Fung ran for the Republican nomination. Moderate Party Chairman Ken Block, who received 6.5% of the vote in the 2010 gubernatorial election, had filed to run again for the Moderate Party. He has since switched to run as a Republican. Fung won the nomination.
John de Jongh (United States Virgin Islands)
was term-limited in 2014.Republican incumbents who sought re-election
Robert Bentley (Alabama)
ran for re-election. Bentley was elected with 57.9% of the vote in 2010.Former Morgan County Commissioner Stacy Lee George challenged Bentley in the Republican primary, as did Bob Starkey, a retired software company executive.
Former baseball player and businessman Kevin Bass and former U.S. Representative Parker Griffith pursued the Democratic nomination, which Griffith won.
Bentley won re-election to a second term.
Sean Parnell (Alaska)
ran for another term Attorney and 2010 Republican primary candidate Bill Walker was running again in the Republican primary, but he has withdrawn and is now running as an Independent. Governor Parnell was defeated by Independent Bill Walker.Former Mayor of Juneau Byron Mallott won the Democratic gubernatorial primary on August 19 with 80% of the vote. On September 2, Walker and Mallott merged their campaigns, with Walker, who ran for governor and Mallott, who ran for lieutenant governor.
Rick Scott (Florida)
was elected with 48.9% of the vote in 2010, defeating then-Chief Financial Officer of Florida Alex Sink by a margin of just over 1 percent. He announced his bid for a second term and is facing former Republican Governor turned Democrat Charlie Crist and Libertarian Adrian Wyllie.Democratic State Senator Nan Rich lost to Charlie Crist in the primary.
Economist and 2010 Independent nominee for governor Farid Khavari is also running.
Nathan Deal (Georgia)
sought re-election. Deal was elected with 53% of the vote in 2010.State School Superintendent John Barge and Mayor of Dalton David Pennington are running for the Republican nomination.
State Senator Jason Carter, the grandson of former President and Governor Jimmy Carter, ran for the Democratic nomination. Connie Stokes, a former Georgia State Senator and DeKalb County Commissioner, was running for governor, but is now running for lieutenant governor. Carter won the gubernatorial nomination.
Deal won re-election to a second term.
Eddie Calvo (Guam)
ran for re-election to a second term. Calvo was elected with 50.61% of the vote in 2010, defeating former Democratic Governor Carl Gutierrez.In June 2014, Gutierrez announced his intention to challenge Governor Calvo, setting up a rematch of the 2010 gubernatorial contest.
Calvo won re-election to a second term.
Butch Otter (Idaho)
sought a third term. Otter was elected to a second term with 59.1% of the vote in 2010. State Senator Russ Fulcher unsuccessfully challenged Otter for the Republican nomination.A. J. Balukoff, President of the Boise School Board, won the Democratic nomination.
Otter won re-election to a third term.
Terry Branstad (Iowa)
sought a sixth non-consecutive term. He was elected to a fifth term with 53% of the vote in 2010. Political activist Tom Hoefling unsuccessfully challenged Branstad for the Republican nomination.Assistant Majority Leader of the Iowa State Senate Jack Hatch former Des Moines school board member Jonathan Narcisse and Webster bus driver Paul Dahl, sought the Democratic nomination. Hatch won.
Branstad won re-election and became the longest-serving governor in US history.
Sam Brownback (Kansas)
sought re-election. Brownback was elected with 63.4% of the vote in 2010. He easily won the Republican nomination.Paul Davis, Minority Leader of the Kansas House of Representatives, successfully ran for the Democratic nomination. According to The Fix, Democrats see this as the "sleeper race" of 2014.
Brownback won re-election to a second term.
Paul LePage (Maine)
sought a second term. LePage was elected with 38.3% of the vote in a competitive three member race in 2010. He easily won the Republican nomination.Representative Mike Michaud successfully ran for the Democratic nomination. Independent candidate Eliot Cutler, who finished second in Maine's 2010 gubernatorial election, is running again against LePage.
LePage won re-election to a second term.
Rick Snyder (Michigan)
sought re-election to a second term and was unopposed in the August 5 party primary. Snyder was elected with 58.1% of the vote in 2010.Former Representative Mark Schauer was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
Snyder won re-election to a second term.
Brian Sandoval (Nevada)
sought a second term. Sandoval was elected with 53.4% of the vote in 2010.Anthropology Professor Frederick "Fred" Conquest and Businessman Chris Hyepock ran for the Democratic nomination. Bob Goodman, won the nomination.
Family therapist David Lory VanDerBeek successfully sought the Independent American nomination.
Sandoval won re-election to a second term.
Susana Martinez (New Mexico)
sought a second term. Martinez was elected with 53.6% of the vote in 2010.State Attorney General Gary King, the son of former Governor Bruce King Businessman Alan Webber, former New Mexico Director of the Farm Service Agency Lawrence Rael, and State Senator's Howie Morales and Linda Lopez sought the Democratic nomination. King won.
Martinez won re-election to a second term.
Eloy Inos (Northern Mariana Islands)
, who was elected as lieutenant governor in 2009 as a member of the Covenant Party, succeeded his predecessor Benigno Fitial upon the latter's resignation on February 20, 2013 sought a full term. In September 2013 he moved to re-unify the Covenant Party with the Republican Party, and is running as a Republican in 2014. His running mate is Senate President Ralph Torres.Former Ports Authority executive director Edward "Tofila" Deleon Guerrero is running as a Democrat, with former representative Danny Quitugua as his running mate.
Former Republican Governor Juan Babauta is running as an independent, with former Republican Senator Juan Torres as his running mate.
2009 Republican candidate Heinz Hofschneider ran as an independent, with Senator Ray Yumul as his running mate.
Inos won election to a full term.
John Kasich (Ohio)
sought a second term. Kasich was elected with 49.4% of the vote in 2010.Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald and Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune are running for the Democratic nomination.
Former Ohio state representative Charlie Earl is running for the Libertarian nomination.
Kasich won re-election to a second term.
Mary Fallin (Oklahoma)
sought a second term. Fallin was elected with 60.1% of the vote in 2010.2010 Republican Party Gubernatorial candidate Randy Brogdon ran again.
State Representative Joe Dorman is the only Democratic candidate who ran.
Fallin won re-election to a second term.
Tom Corbett (Pennsylvania)
Incumbent Republican Governor Tom Corbett ran for re-election to a second term but was defeated by the Democratic nominee, Tom Wolf. This marked the first time an incumbent governor running for re-election in Pennsylvania lost.Democrat Tom Wolf won his party's primary on May 20, 2014, defeating Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, State Treasurer Rob McCord and former Pennsylvania Secretary of Environmental Protection Kathleen McGinty in a landslide victory.
Nikki Haley (South Carolina)
sought re-election. Haley was elected with 51.4% of the vote in 2010.Democratic 2010 gubernatorial nominee, State Senator Vincent Sheheen, sought a rematch.
On April 11, Tom Ervin announced that he was dropping out of the GOP primary.
Haley won re-election to a second term.
Dennis Daugaard (South Dakota)
sought re-election. Daugaard was elected with 61.5% of the vote in 2010. Republican former State Representative Lora Hubbel has announced a primary challenge to Daugaard.Joe Lowe, the former Director of Wildland Fire Suppression, ran for the Democratic nomination. Other speculated candidates included former Commissioner of Schools and Public Lands Bryce Healy, former Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, and Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether, but they have all ruled out running for governor.
Daugaard won re-election to a second term.
Bill Haslam (Tennessee)
sought re-election. Haslam was elected with 65% of the vote in 2010.On August 7, Haslam won the Republican nomination with 87.7%. He faced Democrat Charlie Brown, Constitution Party nominee Shaun Crowell, Green Party nominee Isa Infante, and Libertarian Daniel T. Lewis. Haslam won re-election to a second term.
Scott Walker (Wisconsin)
sought re-election. Walker was elected with 52.3% of the vote in 2010 and was subject to an unsuccessful recall election in 2012, which he won with 53.1% of the vote.Former Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce Mary Burke ran for the Democratic nomination.
Walker was re-elected to a second term.
Matt Mead (Wyoming)
sought re-election. Mead was elected with 65.68% of the vote in 2010. He won the GOP primary on August 19, 2014, with 55% of the vote against Taylor Haynes and Cindy Hill.The Democratic nominee is Pete Gosar.
Democratic incumbents who sought re-election
Jerry Brown (California)
sought re-election. He was elected to a third non-consecutive term with 53.1% of the vote in 2010, having previously served as governor from 1975 to 1983.State Assemblyman Tim Donnelly and former U.S. Treasury Department Official Neel Kashkari were running for the Republican nomination. Former Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado launched a campaign but then withdrew. With 19 percent of the vote Kashkari came in second after Governor Jerry Brown under California's new Nonpartisan blanket primary.
John Hickenlooper (Colorado)
sought for re-election. Hickenlooper was elected with 50.7% of the vote in 2010.State Senator Greg Brophy and Former Congressman Tom Tancredo are running for the Republican nomination. Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler is a potential Republican candidate.
Hickenlooper won re-election to a second term.
Dannel Malloy (Connecticut)
sought re-election. Malloy was elected with 49.51% of the vote in 2010.Former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley is challenging Malloy again after losing by less than 1% of the vote in 2010.
Malloy won re-election to a second term.
Pat Quinn (Illinois)
Democratic Governor Pat Quinn sought re-election, but was defeated by Businessman Bruce Rauner. Quinn was elected to a full term with 46.6% of the vote in 2010.Businessman Bruce Rauner, Treasurer Dan Rutherford, and State Senators Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady are running for the Republican nomination.
On March 18, 2014, Bruce Rauner won the primary and the GOP nomination with 40.1% of the vote.
Mark Dayton (Minnesota)
sought re-election. Dayton was elected with 43.7% of the vote in 2010.Teacher Rob Farnsworth, investment banker Scott Honour, Hennepin County Commissioner and former State Representative Jeff Johnson, perennial candidate Ole Savior, former Minority Leader of the Minnesota House of Representatives and candidate for Governor in 2010 Marty Seifert, State Senator and former radio host Dave Thompson, and State Representative and former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Kurt Zellers sought the Republican nomination. Activist Leslie Davis sought the DFL nomination.
Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire)
, elected in 2012 sought re-election. New Hampshire's governors serve two-year terms.Former U.S. Representative Frank Guinta had not ruled out the possibility of running for the Republican nomination.
Andrew Cuomo (New York)
sought re-election. Cuomo was elected with 62.6% of the vote in 2010 over Carl Paladino.Paladino might seek a rematch. Other potential Republican candidates are Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, businessman Donald Trump, State Assemblyman Steven McLaughlin, Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro and Harry Wilson, the nominee for State Comptroller in 2010.
John Kitzhaber (Oregon)
sought re-election. Kitzhaber was elected with 49.2% of the vote in 2010. KitzhaberPeter Shumlin (Vermont)
, re-elected in 2012, sought re-election.Shumlin won re-election to a third term.
Democratic incumbents defeated in primary nomination
Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii)
launched his re-election campaign on April 29, 2013; sought a second term in 2014. Abercrombie was elected with 58.2% of the vote in 2010 over former Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona. However, in 2014, State Senator David Ige challenged Abercrombie for the Democratic nomination, and successfully defeated Abercrombie for the nomination in a landslide victory during the state's primary election on August 9, 2014. Abercrombie's primary election defeat was the first in Hawaii history for a governor, and marked the first time an incumbent governor lost re-election since 1962.In the midst of Abercrombie's loss, former Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona won the Republican nomination for governor for the second time, and former Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann won his primary as an independent. They along with David Ige advanced to the gubernatorial general election. Ige won the election.