1982 Governor Elections

The archive records 35 state governor races in 1982. The party that won each listed race appears below. The balance includes all 50 governorships, including states that did not hold an election that year.

Governor races by winning party

These groups name the states with a gubernatorial race and the party recorded as the winner in the cited source.

Democrats (27)

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Kansas
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • Texas
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

Republicans (8)

  • Illinois
  • Iowa
  • New Hampshire
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Vermont

Balance After Election

Democrats
Democrats 34 seats
Republicans
Republicans 16 seats

35 races mapped · 50 total governorships after the election cycle · 26 needed for a majority.

1982 Governor Background

The 1982 U.S. gubernatorial cycle included 35 state races (Democrats: 27, Republicans: 8). After the cycle, the party balance was Democrats: 34, Republicans: 16 out of 50 governorships. The balance includes governors whose terms continued in states without an election that year; the state list and map show only states with a recorded race.

Sources

Bundled governor data file generated June 17, 2026. This is the file generation date, not confirmation that each underlying record was independently reverified then. Data methodology