2012 United States gubernatorial elections
The 2012 United States gubernatorial elections were held in 12 states and two territories. Of the eight Democratic and four Republican seats contested, only that of North Carolina changed party hands, giving the Republicans a net gain of one governorship. These elections coincided with the presidential election on November 6, 2012.
Results by state
| State/territory | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing candidates |
| American Samoa | Togiola Tulafono | Democratic | Retired, Independent gain | Lolo Matalasi Moliga General: 33.5%; Runoff: 52.9% Faoa Aitofele Sunia General: 33.1%; Runoff: 47.1% Afoa Moega Lutu General: 19.3% |
| Delaware | Jack Markell | Democratic | Re-elected, 69.3% | Jeff Cragg 28.6% Mark Perri 1.15% Jesse McVay 0.92% |
| Indiana | Mitch Daniels | Republican | Term-limited, Republican hold | Mike Pence 49.49% John Gregg 46.56% Rupert Boneham 3.95% |
| Missouri | Jay Nixon | Democratic | Re-elected, 54.68% | Dave Spence 42.62% Jim Higgins 2.7% |
| Montana | Brian Schweitzer | Democratic | Term-limited, Democrat hold | Steve Bullock 48.9% Rick Hill 47.34% Ron Vandevender 3.76% |
| New Hampshire | John Lynch | Democratic | Retired, Democrat hold | Maggie Hassan 54.61% Ovide Lamontagne 42.42% John Babiarz 2.77% |
| North Carolina | Beverly Perdue | Democratic | Retired, Republican gain | Pat McCrory 54.7% Walter Dalton 43.17% Barbara Howe 2.13% |
| North Dakota | Jack Dalrymple | Republican | Elected to a full term, 63.1% | Ryan Taylor 34.31% Paul Sorum 1.69% |
| Puerto Rico | Luis Fortuño | New Progressive/Republican | Defeated, 47.13% | Alejandro García Padilla 47.73% Juan Dalmau Ramírez 2.52% |
| Utah | Gary Herbert | Republican | Re-elected, 68.37% | Peter Cooke 27.75% Ken Larsen 2.18% |
| Vermont | Peter Shumlin | Democratic | Re-elected, 57.8% | Randy Brock 37.6% Emily Peyton 2% |
| Washington | Christine Gregoire | Democratic | Retired, Democratic hold | Jay Inslee 51.54% Rob McKenna 48.46% |
| West Virginia | Earl Ray Tomblin | Democratic | Re-elected, 50.47% | Bill Maloney 45.68% Jesse Johnson 2.51% |
| Wisconsin | Scott Walker | Republican | Survived recall, 53.1% | Tom Barrett 46.3% |
Close Races
States where the margin of victory was under 1%:- Puerto Rico, 0.6%
- Montana, 1.6%
- Indiana, 2.9%
- Washington, 3.0%
- West Virginia, 4.8%
- American Samoa, 5.8%
- Wisconsin, 6.8%
Retired and term-limited Democratic incumbents
Togiola Tulafono (American Samoa)
, who had served as Governor since 2003, was ineligible to run for re-election due to term limits.Six candidates vied to succeed outgoing Governor Tulafono – former President of American Samoa Community College, Salu Hunkin-Finau; businessman Timothy Jones; former Attorney General Afoa Moega Lutu; former President of the Development Bank of American Samoa, Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga; Lieutenant Governor Faoa Aitofele Sunia; and former High Court of American Samoa justice Save Liuato Tuitele. Moliga eventually won the general election.
Brian Schweitzer (Montana)
was term-limited in 2012.The declared Democratic primary candidates were state Senator Larry Jent and state Attorney General Steve Bullock.
The declared Republican primary candidates included Chouteau County commissioner Jim O'Hara, former state Senators Corey Stapleton and Ken Miller, terrorism and national security analyst Neil Livingstone, former Congressman Rick Hill, and Truck driver Keith Winkler.
Steve Bullock and Rick Hill won their respective primaries. Bullock defeated Hill and Libertarian Ron Vandevender in the general election.
John Lynch (New Hampshire)
retired rather than running for re-election.Maggie Hassan, former Majority Leader of the New Hampshire State Senate, defeated former state senator Jackie Cilley and firefighter Bill Kennedy to become the Democratic nominee. Former Chairman of the New Hampshire Board of Education Ovide Lamontagne, who narrowly lost the Republican primary for Senate in 2010, defeated conservative activist and former state representative Kevin Smith and Bill Tarr to win the Republican nomination. Hassan eventually won the general election.
New Hampshire does not have a position of Lieutenant Governor.
Beverly Perdue (North Carolina)
retired rather than run for re-election.Potential Democratic candidates included Lt. Gov. Walter H. Dalton and state Rep. Bill Faison.
Potential Republican candidates included former Mayor of Charlotte Pat McCrory ; Nido Qubein, President of High Point University; Tom Fetzer, former Mayor of Raleigh; and former state Senator Fred Smith.
Dalton and McCrory won their respective primaries, and McCrory eventually won the general election.
The Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina was elected separately.
Christine Gregoire (Washington)
retired rather than run for re-election.U.S. Representative Jay Inslee is the only declared Democratic candidate. Other potential Democratic candidates including state Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, King County Executive Dow Constantine, state Treasurer Jim McIntire, Auditor General Brian Sonntag, and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon have declined to run, or endorsed Inslee.
State Attorney General Rob McKenna and Pastor Shahram Hadian, are the announced Republicans in the race. Seattle Port Commission President Bill Bryant is considered a potential Republican candidate. U.S. Representative Dave Reichert decided against a bid, and threw his support to McKenna. Inslee eventually won the general election.
The Lieutenant Governor will be elected separately.
Term-limited Republican incumbent
Mitch Daniels (Indiana)
was term-limited in 2012.Mike Pence, a six-term Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, announced his candidacy for his party's nomination. Pence, whose announcement was anticipated by his resignation of a leading position in the GOP caucus in the House, was regarded as the favorite for election. Indianapolis businessman and former Hamilton County Councilman Jim Wallace had announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination prior to Pence's entrance but failed to collect enough signatures to become an official candidate by the deadline in February 2012.
Former state House Speaker John R. Gregg was unopposed for the Democratic Party's nomination.
Former Survivor contestant and founder of the Rupert's Kids charity Rupert Boneham ran as the Libertarian Party candidate.
Pence narrowly defeated Gregg with 49.9% of the vote to Gregg's 46.56%. Boneham received 3.95% of the vote.
Democratic incumbents who sought re-election
Jack Markell (Delaware)
ran for re-election. His Republican challenger was Jeff Cragg.Markell eventually won the election.
Jay Nixon (Missouri)
sought re-election.Dave Spence, a businessman from St. Louis, won the Republican nomination over attorney Bill Randles in the August 7, 2012 primary.
Jim Higgins is the Libertarian candidate.
Nixon eventually won the general election over Spence and Higgins.
The Lieutenant Governor is elected separately.
Peter Shumlin (Vermont)
, the victor of the Vermont gubernatorial election of 2010, ran for re-election in 2012. His Republican challenger was state Senator Randy Brock. Shumlin later won the general election.The Lieutenant Governor was elected separately.
Earl Ray Tomblin (West Virginia)
see also: West Virginia gubernatorial special election, 2011The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia ruled on January 18, 2011 that the state must hold a special gubernatorial election in 2011 to fill the vacancy resulting from Joe Manchin's election to the United States Senate. The special election occurred October 4, 2011 with state Senate President and acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin won the election. Tomblin was eligible to run for a full term in 2012.
Tomblin's 2011 Republican opponent, businessman Bill Maloney, eventually became the Republican nominee. Tomblin later won the election.
David Moran was the Libertarian candidate.
The Lieutenant Governor is elected by the State Senate.
Republican incumbents who sought re-election
Jack Dalrymple (North Dakota)
succeeded John Hoeven after the latter was elected Senator and ran for a full term in 2012. Drew Wrigley was his running mate. Dalrymple defeated architect Paul Sorum for the nomination.State Senate Minority leader Ryan Taylor was the Democratic nominee. Ellen Chaffee was his running mate. Dalrymple eventually won the general election.
Luis Fortuño (Puerto Rico)
ran for re-election.Fortuño had been mentioned as a long-shot potential Republican nominee for President or Vice President in 2012. However, he announced on June 26, 2011 that he would run for re-election instead of seeking the Presidency.
Senator Alejandro García Padilla was the net biggest challenger out of six challengers, and eventually won the general election.
Puerto Rico does not have a position of Lieutenant Governor.
Gary Herbert (Utah)
, who won the 2010 gubernatorial special election to finish his predecessor's unfinished term, ran for a full four-year term in 2012.He was opposed by Democrat Peter Cooke, a businessman and retired major general. The Libertarian candidate was medical researcher Ken Larson, and the Constitution party candidate was Kirk D. Pearson. Herbert eventually won the general election.