United States gubernatorial elections, 2011
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United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states in October and November 2011, with regularly scheduled elections in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana; and a special election in West Virginia. None of these four governorships changed party hands, with Democratic incumbents
Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...
and
Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as pres ...
winning in
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, respectively; and Republicans reelecting
Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...
in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
and holding the open seat in
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. As of , this is the last time that a Republican won the governorship in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.


Predictions


Race summary


Closest races

States where the margin of victory was under 5%: # West Virginia, 2.5% Blue denotes states won by Democrats.


Kentucky

On July 19, 2009,
Steve Beshear Steven Lynn Beshear (born September 21, 1944) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 61st governor of Kentucky from 2007 to 2015. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1974 to 1980, was the state's 44th atto ...
announced his intention to run for re-election in 2011 and that then-
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
mayor
Jerry Abramson Jerry Edwin Abramson (born September 12, 1946) is an American Democratic politician who was the 55th lieutenant governor of Kentucky. On November 6, 2014, Governor Steve Beshear announced that Abramson would step down from his position as lieute ...
would be his running mate. On January 6, 2011, Beshear and Abramson officially filed their candidacy. Businessman Phil Moffett, Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw, and State Senate president David L. Williams were the declared Republican candidates. Agriculture commissioner
Richie Farmer Richard Dwight Farmer (born August 25, 1969) is an American former collegiate basketball player and Republican Party politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served as the Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner from 2004 to 2012 and was the ...
Secretary of State
Trey Grayson Charles Merwin "Trey" Grayson III (born April 18, 1972) is an American politician and attorney who is currently a member at Frost Brown Todd and a principal at CivicPoint. A former Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Grayson als ...
, and Businessman Bill Johnson, were also speculated candidates, but all declined. However, Farmer would run as Williams' running mate. The Williams-Farmer ticket won the primary on May 17. In the general election, Beshear won, defeating Williams and independent candidate
Gatewood Galbraith Louis Gatewood Galbraith (January 23, 1947 – January 4, 2012) was an American author and Attorneys in the United States, attorney from the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. He was a five-time political candidate for governor of Kentucky. Early l ...
.


Louisiana

In 2008
Bobby Jindal Piyush "Bobby" Jindal (born June 10, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 55th Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016. The only living former Louisiana governor, Jindal also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives a ...
stated that it was unlikely he would run for president in 2012 and that his primary electoral goal in the future would be on re-election in 2011. On August 15, 2010, he confirmed his intention to run for re-election. Candidates who opposed Jindal included Attorney Cary Deaton (D), Teachers Tara Hollis (D) and Trey Roberts (D), victim advocacy activist Androniki "Niki Bird" Papazoglakis (D), Former Vice Chairman of the
Libertarian Party of Louisiana The Libertarian Party of Louisiana (LPL) is the Louisiana affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Heide Alejandro-Smith. It is the third largest party in Louisiana and one of five officially recognized parties in the state. The L ...
Scott Lewis, ex-
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) (French: Département de La Santé de Louisiane) , formerly known as the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (French: Département de La Santé et des Hôpitaux) , is a state agency of Louisiana, h ...
David Blanchard (I), Computer Engineer Lenny Bollingham (I), Accountant Ron Ceasar (I), and Retired Volunteer Fire Chief
Bob Lang Robert McDonnell "Bob" Lang (October 1, 1892 – September 19, 1966) was a college football player. Early years Before attending Tech Lang went to the old South Georgia College in McRae. Georgia Tech Lang was a prominent guard for John Heis ...
(I). The election was then held on October 22 with all the candidates competing in a
nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...
. Jindal was elected to a second term, receiving an outright majority of the vote (thus a runoff election that would have occurred on November 19 became unnecessary).


Mississippi

Incumbent
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as chairman of the Republican ...
was term-limited in 2011. The Republican candidates included author, small business owner, and Baptist minister James Broadwater; Lt. Governor
Phil Bryant Dewey Phillip Bryant (born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Mississippi from 2012 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 31st lieutenant governor of Mississippi from 2008 to 2012 and 4 ...
; former New Orleans Federal Reserve Board Chairman Dave Dennis; and Pearl River County District Supervisor Hudson Holliday. Bryant won the Republican nomination by a wide margin. Prominent state businessman Bill Luckett and
Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...
Mayor
Johnny DuPree Johnny DuPree (born November 18, 1953) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the mayor of Hattiesburg, Mississippi from 2001 to 2017. He was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Mississippi in 2011, th ...
were two declared Democratic candidates. Dupree defeated Luckett in the Primary runoff to win the Democratic nomination. Bryant ended up defeating Dupree in the general election. The
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
was elected separately.


West Virginia (special)

The
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is the state supreme court of the state of West Virginia, the highest of West Virginia's state courts. The court sits primarily at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, although from 1873 ...
ruled on January 18, 2011 that the state must hold a special gubernatorial election in 2011 to fill the vacancy resulting from
Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician and businessman serving as the senior United States senator from West Virginia, a seat he has held since 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, Manchin was the 34th governor of ...
's election to the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
. State Senate President
Earl Ray Tomblin Earl Ray Tomblin (born March 15, 1952) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of West Virginia from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the West Virginia Senate from 1980 to 2011 and as pres ...
ascended to the office of Acting Governor in 2010; he is eligible to seek election for the remainder of Manchin's term and has stated that he will do so. Other Democratic candidates included state House Speaker Rick Thompson, Acting President of the
West Virginia Senate The West Virginia Senate is the upper house of the West Virginia Legislature. There are seventeen senatorial districts. Each district has two senators who serve staggered four-year terms. Although the Democratic Party held a supermajority in t ...
Jeffrey V. Kessler, state Secretary of State
Natalie Tennant Natalie E. Tennant (born December 25, 1967) is an American politician who served as the Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2009 to 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennant was the 2014 Democratic Party nominee for West Virgin ...
, and state Treasurer John Perdue. Tomlin overcame intra-party opposition in the May 14 primary and thus advanced to the general election. The Declared Republican candidates include former Secretary of State
Betty Ireland Betty Ireland (born 1946) was the 28th Secretary of State of West Virginia from 2005 to 2009, as the first woman elected to the executive branch of West Virginia state government. She was also the first Republican elected to that position sinc ...
, state Senate Minority Whip
Clark Barnes Clark S. Barnes (born August 6, 1950) is a former member of the West Virginia Senate, representing District 15 as a Republican. Originally elected in 2004, Barnes was reelected to the Senate’s District 15 in 2008. He ran in the 2012 election f ...
, and Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia. U.S. Representative
Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from West Virginia since 2015. A me ...
and businessman
John Raese John Reeves Raese ( ; born April 10, 1950) is an American businessman and perennial Republican Party candidate for political office in West Virginia. He has lost campaigns to represent West Virginia in the United States Senate in 1984, 2006, 201 ...
have both stated that they will not run. Businessman
Bill Maloney Bill Maloney is an American businessman and politician. He was a two-time candidate for the governorship of West Virginia. He was the Republican nominee in the 2011 West Virginia gubernatorial special election, in which he lost by 7,546 votes, a ...
won the Republican primary in an upset and faced Tomblin in the general election. In the general election, Tomblin defeated Maloney.


Notes


References

{{United States gubernatorial elections