United States gubernatorial elections were held on Tuesday November 8, in 35 states. 12 governors Democrats and 23 governors Republicans won election, bringing the partisan reflection of the nation's states to 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans. This election coincided with the Senate and the House elections. As of , this is the last time the amount of governorships each party held was tied.

Alabama

Until 1968, Alabama governors were not allowed two successive terms. To circumvent this, Wallace used his wife Lurleen as his stand-in. She died in 1968.

Alaska

Egan was defeated in 1966, but would be re-elected in 1970 (see 1970 United States gubernatorial elections).

Arizona

Arizona operated on governors serving two-year terms until 1970, when Jack Richard Williams was the first governor to be elected to a four-year term. He had previously been elected governor for two two-year terms in 1966. and in 1968. Arizona made the switch official from two-year to four-year terms in 1968 with an amendment. Arizona not only adopted a four-year term for governors starting in the general election of 1970, but also adopted a two consecutive term limit in 1992.

Arkansas

Arkansas had two-year terms for governors until 1984, when they switched to four-year terms with Amendment 63.

Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the ...

was elected the first Republican governor since Reconstruction. He became the first Republican governor of any former Confederate State since Alfred A. Taylor of Tennessee was defeated in 1922.

California

Incumbent governor

Pat Brown Edmund Gerald "Pat" Brown (April 21, 1905 – February 16, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of California from 1959 to 1967. His first elected office was as district attorney for San Francisco, and he w ...

(Democrat) was defeated in his bid for a third term by future U.S. president Ronald Reagan (Republican).

Florida

William Haydon Burns was elected in 1964 for a two-year term because Florida shifted their governors' races from presidential years to midterm years. Starting in 1966, Florida held their four-year gubernatorial races in midterm years. Kirk was the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In 1968, Florida adopted a new state constitution, and the governor now had the option to serve two four-year terms in a row.

Georgia

Maddox was elected by the State Legislature, and Callaway was the first Republican nominee for governor since 1876.

Oklahoma

During Henry Bellmon's first term (1963–1967), the Oklahoma Constitution was changed to allow its governor to serve consecutive terms. However, the rule change did not apply to Bellmon. Thus, he was not eligible to serve a second term. He later served another term, from 1987 to 1991.

United States 1966 governors' races chart

References

{{USGovElections November 1966 events in the United States