1991 United States gubernatorial elections

1991 United States gubernatorial elections

October 19, November 5 and 16, 1991
4 governorships 3 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 28 20 Seats after 28 20 Seat change Seats up 2 1 Seats won 2 1
Democratic gain      Democratic hold      Republican gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 5, 1991, in three states and one territory. Prior to the elections, Democrats held two seats and Republicans held one. The national balance of power did not change as a result of the elections, but the balance of power shifted in two states.

In Kentucky, the incumbent governor, Wallace Wilkinson, was term-limited. Lieutenant Governor Brereton C. Jones was the candidate for the Democrats and defeated Republican Representative Larry J. Hopkins.

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Kentucky	Wallace Wilkinson	Democratic	1987	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Brereton C. Jones (Democratic) 64.7% Larry J. Hopkins (Republican) 35.3%
Louisiana	Buddy Roemer	Republican	1987	Incumbent eliminated in primary. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Edwin Edwards (Democratic) 61.2% David Duke (Republican) 38.8%
Mississippi	Ray Mabus	Democratic	1987	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Kirk Fordice (Republican) 50.8% Ray Mabus (Democratic) 47.6% Shawn O'Hara (Independent) 1.6%

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:

1. Mississippi, 3.2%

Kentucky

1991 Kentucky gubernatorial election

November 5, 1991
Turnout	44.1% 4.3 pp
Nominee Brereton Jones Larry J. Hopkins Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 540,468 294,452 Percentage 64.73% 35.27%
Jones:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Hopkins:      50–60%      60–70%
Governor before election Wallace Wilkinson Democratic Elected Governor Brereton Jones Democratic

The 1991 Kentucky gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1991. Incumbent Governor Wallace Wilkinson was not eligible to seek a second term due to term limits established by the Kentucky Constitution, creating an open seat. At the time, Kentucky was one of two states, along with Virginia, which prohibited its governors from serving immediate successive terms. The Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Brereton Jones, defeated Republican nominee and U.S. Congressman Larry J. Hopkins to win a term as governor.

Louisiana

1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election

October 19, 1991 (first round) November 16, 1991 (runoff)

Candidate Edwin Edwards David Duke Party Democratic Republican First round 523,096 33.76% 491,342 31.71% Runoff 1,057,031 61.17% 671,009 38.83%   Candidate Buddy Roemer Clyde C. Holloway Party Republican Republican First round 410,690 26.51% 82,683 5.34% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated

Edwards:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      80–90% Duke:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Roemer:      30–40%      40–50%

Governor before election Buddy Roemer Republican Elected Governor Edwin Edwards Democratic

The 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election resulted in the election of Democrat Edwin Edwards to his fourth non-consecutive term as governor of Louisiana. The election received national and international attention due to the unexpectedly strong showing of David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, who had ties to other white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. Incumbent Republican Governor Buddy Roemer, who had switched from the Democratic to Republican Party during his term, ran for re-election to a second term but was eliminated in the first round of voting.

Mississippi

1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election

November 5, 1991

Nominee Kirk Fordice Ray Mabus Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 361,500 338,459 Percentage 50.83% 47.59%

County results Fordice:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Mabus:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%

Governor before election Ray Mabus Democratic Elected Governor Kirk Fordice Republican

The 1991 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 5, 1991 to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat Ray Mabus unsuccessfully ran for reelection to a second term. This election marked the first time a Republican was elected Governor of Mississippi since Reconstruction, when Adelbert Ames won the office in 1873.