2014 United States gubernatorial elections
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.
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39 governorships 36 states; 3 territories | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Map of the results Democratic gain Republican gain Democratic hold Republican hold Independent gain No election The 2013 Special elections, although covered in this article, are not included in this infobox summary. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Republicans defended 22 seats, compared to the Democrats' 14. The Republicans held open seats in Arizona, Nebraska, and Texas; and gained open Democratic-held seats in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Arkansas. Republican Bruce Rauner also defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn in Illinois. 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. 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 (giving them 31 total), the Democrats had a net loss of three seats (leaving them with 18 total), and an independent picked up one seat (giving them 1 total). As a result of these races, Republican Terry Branstad was re-elected to his sixth full four-year term as governor of Iowa, and thus became the longest-serving governor in U.S. history.
As of 2024, this is the last time that Republicans have won gubernatorial races in Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, and Wisconsin; and the last time Democrats won races in New Hampshire and Vermont. This is also the last time that the Republicans have made a net gain of governorships in a midterm election, and the last time that a candidate outside of the two major parties has won the governorship of any state.