Gubernatorial elections, 2017

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The governor, or chief executive officer of the state, is the only state executive office other than the attorney general that exists in every state in the country. But unlike the attorney general, which is the state's chief legal officer and is chosen by voters in only 43 states, the governor is elected by popular vote in all 50.

HIGHLIGHTS

In 2017, two states held gubernatorial elections - New Jersey and Virginia. These states are the only two to schedule gubernatorial elections in the year following a presidential election.

The winners of the gubernatorial elections were Ralph Northam (D) in Virginia and Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey.

Northam's election in Virginia prevented the formation of a Republican trifecta in the state and—alongside Mark Herring's (D) victory in the attorney general election—preserved the state's Democratic triplex.

Murphy's election in New Jersey created a Democratic trifecta and replaced the state's Republican triplex with a Democratic triplex.

Both elections were held on November 7, 2017. In New Jersey, the primary election was held on June 6, 2017, while in Virginia the primary was held on June 13, 2017. Their previous gubernatorial elections were held in 2013. Both states' lieutenant governors, Ralph Northam (D) of Virginia and Kim Guadagno (R) of New Jersey, were running for governor in the 2017 elections.

As of June 2017, the overall race rating from five separate outlets was Likely Democrat in New Jersey and Lean Democrat in Virginia. Trifecta and triplex control of both states was at stake in the elections.

Election information

Gubernatorial Election Information, 2017
State	Trifecta status (before)	Triplex status (before)	Incumbent	Incumbent running?	Winner	Partisan switch?	Trifecta status (after)	Triplex status (after)
New Jersey	Divided government	Republican triplex	Chris Christie	No (termed-out)	Phil Murphy	Yes	Democratic trifecta	Democratic triplex
Virginia	Divided government	Democratic triplex	Terry McAuliffe	No (termed-out)	Ralph Northam	No	Divided government	Democratic triplex

New Jersey

See also: New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2017

Click [show] to view a list of candidates running in this election.
Phil Murphy Kim Guadagno Peter Rohrman Seth Kaper-Dale Matt Riccardi Gina Genovese Vincent Ross

Heading into the New Jersey election, the incumbent was two-term Gov. Chris Christie (R), who was prevented from seeking re-election due to term limits. Christie was first elected in 2009 and was re-elected in 2013. At the time of the election, New Jersey had been under divided government since Christie first took office in 2010. Since the Democratic Party controlled both houses of the New Jersey State Legislature, Democratic victory in the gubernatorial election turned New Jersey into a Democratic trifecta. New Jersey had been won by the Democratic candidate in each of the past five presidential election cycles, and has been won twice by a Democratic candidate and three times by a Republican candidate in the past five gubernatorial election cycles.

See also: New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2017

New Jersey held an election for governor and lieutenant governor on November 7, 2017. Governor Chris Christie (R) was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election. New Jersey elects its governor and lieutenant governor together on a joint ticket.

The general election took place on November 7, 2017. The primary election was held on June 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the primary election was April 3, 2017.

The following candidates ran in the election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey.

New Jersey Gubernatorial and Lieutenant Gubernatorial Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Phil Murphy/Sheila Oliver	56.03%	1,203,110
	Republican	Kim Guadagno/Carlos Rendo	41.89%	899,583
	Independent	Gina Genovese/Derel Stroud	0.57%	12,294
	Libertarian	Peter Rohrman/Karese Laguerre	0.49%	10,531
	Green	Seth Kaper-Dale/Lisa Durden	0.47%	10,053
	Constitution	Matt Riccardi	0.32%	6,864
	Independent	Vincent Ross/April Johnson	0.23%	4,980
Total Votes (6385/6385 precincts reporting)				2,147,415
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

Kim Guadagno defeated Jack Ciattarelli, Hirsh Singh, Joseph Rudy Rullo, and Steve Rogers in the Republican primary.

New Jersey Republican Gubernatorial Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kim Guadagno	46.82%	113,846
Jack Ciattarelli	31.08%	75,556
Hirsh Singh	9.76%	23,728
Joseph Rudy Rullo	6.51%	15,816
Steve Rogers	5.84%	14,187
Total Votes		243,133
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

Phil Murphy defeated Jim Johnson, John Wisniewski, Ray Lesniak, Bill Brennan, and Mark Zinna in the Democratic primary.

New Jersey Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Phil Murphy	48.42%	243,643
Jim Johnson	21.91%	110,250
John Wisniewski	21.57%	108,532
Ray Lesniak	4.83%	24,318
Bill Brennan	2.24%	11,263
Mark Zinna	1.04%	5,213
Total Votes		503,219
Source: New Jersey Division of Elections

Virginia

See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017

Click [show] to view a list of candidates running in this election.
Ralph Northam Ed Gillespie Cliff Hyra

Heading into the Virginia election, the incumbent was one-term Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who was prevented from seeking re-election due to term limits. McAuliffe was first elected in 2013. At the time of the election, Virginia had been under divided government since McAuliffe first took office in 2014. Since the Republican Party controlled both houses of the Virginia State Legislature, Republican victory in the gubernatorial election would have turned Virginia into a Republican trifecta. Virginia had been won three times by the Democratic candidate and twice by the Republican candidate in the past five presidential election cycles and the past five gubernatorial election cycles.

See also: Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017

Virginia held an election for governor on November 7, 2017. Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) was term-limited and ineligible to run for re-election to a consecutive term.

The general election took place on November 7, 2017. A primary election was held on June 13, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in the primary election was March 30, 2017.

Ralph Northam (D) defeated Ed Gillespie (R) and Cliff Hyra (Libertarian) in the election for Governor of Virginia.

Virginia Gubernatorial Election, 2017
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ralph Northam	53.93%	1,409,175
	Republican	Ed Gillespie	45.00%	1,175,731
	Libertarian	Cliff Hyra	1.07%	27,987
Total Votes				2,612,893
Source: Virginia Department of Elections

Ralph Northam defeated Tom Perriello in the Democratic primary for Governor of Virginia.

Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ralph Northam	55.90%	303,541
Tom Perriello	44.10%	239,505
Total Votes		543,046
Source: The New York Times

Ed Gillespie defeated Corey Stewart and Frank Wagner in the Republican primary for Governor of Virginia.

Virginia Republican Gubernatorial Primary, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ed Gillespie	43.71%	160,100
Corey Stewart	42.53%	155,780
Frank Wagner	13.76%	50,394
Total Votes		366,274
Source: The New York Times

Comparison

Overview

Heading into the 2017 elections, both New Jersey and Virginia were in a state of divided government, with one party holding majorities in both houses of the state legislature while the other party controlled the governor's mansion. At the time of the election, New Jersey had a Republican governor and Democratic majorities in both houses of the state legislature, while the pattern was reversed in Virginia. In addition, both states had a partisan triplex, meaning that the offices of governor, attorney general, and secretary of state were controlled by the same party.

Both Gov. Chris Christie (R) of New Jersey and Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) of Virginia were prevented from seeking re-election in 2017 by term limits. In both states, the lieutenant governor sought election to the governor's office, with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R) of New Jersey and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) of Virginia securing their parties' nominations in the June primary elections. While Northam was successful in the general election in Virginia, Guadagno was defeated by Phil Murphy.

Gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, 1997-2013

The past five gubernatorial election cycles in Virginia and New Jersey have resulted in five Republican victories and five Democratic victories. In New Jersey, a Republican candidate has won three of the past five elections, with the average result across the past five cycles being a 0.3 percent Republican victory. In Virginia, a Democratic candidate has won three of the past five elections. However, all three Democratic victories in Virginia were by less than a six percent margin, while both Republican victories were by margins over ten percent. Therefore, the average result across the past five election cycles in Virginia was a 3.4 percent Republican victory.

In the ten elections examined, the candidate from the same political party as the sitting president has been defeated in nine, with the 2013 election of Terry McAuliffe as governor of Virginia during the presidency of Barack Obama as the only exception. In the 1997 elections, held during the presidency of Bill Clinton, the average result across the two states was a 7.2 percent Republican victory. The 2001 and 2005 elections, held during the presidency of George W. Bush, delivered average margins of victory of 10.0 percent and 8.1 percent to the Democratic candidate, respectively. Finally, in 2009 and 2013, while Barack Obama was president, Republican candidates won by respective margins of 10.5 percent and 9.8 percent.

Election results (Governor of New Jersey and Virginia), 1997-2013
Year	First-place New Jersey candidate	First-place New Jersey candidate margin of victory	First-place Virginia candidate	First-place Virginia candidate margin of victory	Overall margin of victory
2013	Chris Christie	22.1%	Terry McAuliffe	2.5%	9.8%
2009	Chris Christie	3.6%	Bob McDonnell	17.3%	10.5%
2005	Jon Corzine	10.5%	Tim Kaine	5.7%	8.1%
2001	Jim McGreevey	14.7%	Mark Warner	5.2%	10.0%
1997	Christine Todd Whitman	1.1%	Jim Gilmore	13.2%	7.2%
Overall	Republican	0.3%	Republican	3.4%	1.9%

Presidential elections in New Jersey and Virginia, 2000-2016

The past five presidential election cycles in both New Jersey and Virginia have tended to favor Democratic candidates, who won in both states in 2008, 2012, and 2016. In 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush (R) won in Virginia while New Jersey went to the Democratic candidate. Democratic candidates have won in New Jersey by an average 14 percent margin across the previous five election cycles. In Virginia, George W. Bush's victories were by a larger margin than Barack Obama's or Hillary Clinton's, meaning that the average presidential election result in Virginia across the past five cycles has been a 0.2 percent Republican victory.

Election results (President of the United States), New Jersey and Virginia 2000-2016
Year	First-place New Jersey candidate	First-place New Jersey candidate margin of victory	First-place Virginia candidate	First-place Virginia candidate margin of victory	Overall margin of victory
2016	Hillary Clinton	14.1%	Hillary Clinton	5.3%	9.7%
2012	Barack Obama	17.8%	Barack Obama	3.9%	10.9%
2008	Barack Obama	15.5%	Barack Obama	6.3%	10.9%
2004	John Kerry	6.7%	George W. Bush	8.2%	0.8%
2000	Al Gore	15.8%	George W. Bush	8.1%	3.9%
Overall	Democratic	14.0%	Republican	0.2%	6.9%

Pivot counties

Ballotpedia has identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. There are two of these pivot counties in New Jersey and five in Virginia.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Gloucester County, New Jersey	0.48%	10.77%	12.16%
Salem County, New Jersey	15.00%	1.31%	3.92%

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County	Trump margin of victory in 2016	Obama margin of victory in 2012	Obama margin of victory in 2008
Buckingham County, Virginia	11.28%	2.43%	0.87%
Caroline County, Virginia	5.02%	8.24%	11.97%
Essex County, Virginia	2.14%	7.30%	10.35%
Nelson County, Virginia	5.59%	2.72%	9.15%
Westmoreland County, Virginia	7.14%	6.95%	10.24%

Primary results

Of Virginia and New Jersey's seven pivot counties, four--Salem County, New Jersey, Caroline County, Virginia, Essex County, Virginia, and Westmoreland County, Virginia--were won by candidates who would go on to lose the primary election in both party's primaries. In addition, Gloucester County, New Jersey, went to Jack Ciattarelli in the Republican primary election despite his statewide loss to Kim Guadagno. Across the 14 Democratic and Republican primary elections held in the seven examined pivot counties in 2017, the eventual statewide winner was defeated in eight. All four statewide primary winners (Phil Murphy (D) and Kim Guadagno (R) in New Jersey and Ralph Northam (D) and Ed Gillespie (R) in Virginia) received a lower share of the vote in the average vote totals across pivot counties than they did in statewide results.

Governor of New Jersey (Democratic primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Third-place candidate	Third-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Gloucester County	Phil Murphy	49.1%	John Wisniewski	26.4%	Jim Johnson	16.4%	22.7%
Salem County	John Wisniewski	31.9%	Phil Murphy	31.8%	Jim Johnson	18.4%	0.1%
Average across pivot counties	Phil Murphy	40.5%	John Wisniewski	29.2%	Jim Johnson	17.4%	11.3%
Statewide results	Phil Murphy	48.4%	Jim Johnson	21.9%	John Wisniewski	21.6%	26.5%

Governor of New Jersey (Republican primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Third-place candidate	Third-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Gloucester County	Jack Ciattarelli	34.4%	Kim Guadagno	34.2%	Steve Rogers	12.4%	0.2%
Salem County	Jack Ciattarelli	37.5%	Kim Guadagno	31.0%	Joseph Rudy Rullo	13.8%	6.5%
Average across pivot counties	Jack Ciattarelli	36.0%	Kim Guadagno	32.6%	Joseph Rudy Rullo	11.9%	3.4%
Statewide results	Kim Guadagno	46.7%	Jack Ciattarelli	31.0%	Hirsh Singh	9.7%	15.7%

Governor of Virginia (Democratic primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Buckingham County	Tom Perriello	73.14%	Ralph Northam	26.86%	46.28%
Caroline County	Ralph Northam	51.86%	Tom Perriello	48.14%	3.72%
Essex County	Ralph Northam	64.05%	Tom Perriello	35.95%	28.10%
Nelson County	Tom Perriello	90.81%	Ralph Northam	9.19%	81.62%
Westmoreland County	Ralph Northam	61.08%	Tom Perriello	38.92%	22.16%
Average across pivot counties	Tom Perriello	57.39%	Ralph Northam	42.61%	14.78%
Statewide results	Ralph Northam	55.92%	Tom Perriello	44.08%	11.84%

Governor of Virginia (Republican primary) - pivot counties, 2017
County	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Third-place candidate	Third-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
Buckingham County	Corey Stewart	50.41%	Ed Gillespie	43.38%	Frank Wagner	6.21%	6.93%
Caroline County	Ed Gillespie	48.66%	Corey Stewart	45.60%	Frank Wagner	5.75%	3.06%
Essex County	Ed Gillespie	52.30%	Corey Stewart	39.92%	Frank Wagner	7.78%	12.38
Nelson County	Corey Stewart	54.38%	Ed Gillespie	35.71%	Frank Wagner	9.91%	18.67%
Westmoreland County	Ed Gillespie	44.09%	Corey Stewart	43.42%	Frank Wagner	12.49%	0.67%
Average across pivot counties	Corey Stewart	46.75%	Ed Gillespie	44.83%	Frank Wagner	8.43%	1.92%
Statewide results	Ed Gillespie	43.74%	Corey Stewart	42.50%	Frank Wagner	13.75%	1.24%

Party control in New Jersey and Virginia

Between 1992 and 2017, both major parties have held trifecta control of New Jersey and Virginia. During that period, New Jersey has spent six years under a Democratic trifecta, eight years under a Republican trifecta, and 12 years under divided government. In comparison, Virginia has spent two years under a Democratic trifecta, four years under a Republican trifecta, and 20 years under divided government. Heading into the 2017 elections, both states were under divided government. New Jersey had held this status since Chris Christie was sworn into office in 2010, ending a six-year Democratic trifecta. Virginia had held this status since Terry McAuliffe was sworn into office in 2014, ending a two-year Republican trifecta. In addition, the office of governor tended to alternate control in both states. No single party has controlled the governor's mansion for more than eight years since 1970 in New Jersey and 1994 in Virginia.

In New Jersey, the Democratic victory replaced the state's Republican triplex with a Democratic triplex, since the governor of New Jersey has the power to appoint the attorney general and secretary of state. Likewise, in Virginia, a Republican victory would have ended the state's Democratic triplex. If this was paired with a Republican victory in the attorney general election, then Virginia would have become a Republican triplex, since the governor of Virginia has the power to appoint the secretary of state.

New Jersey Party Control: 1992-2025
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Eight years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Assembly	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Virginia Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas  •  Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D

Primary elections

See also: New Jersey gubernatorial primary election, 2017 and Virginia gubernatorial primary election, 2017

Both New Jersey and Virginia held gubernatorial primary elections in June 2017. In both states, the sitting governor's party saw fewer candidates running in the primary. In New Jersey, there were five Republican candidates to six Democratic candidates while in Virginia there were two Democratic candidates to three Republican candidates. The New Jersey primary elections were decided by wider margins of victory than those in Virginia. While Phil Murphy secured a 26.5 percent margin of victory and Kim Guadagno won her primary by a 15.7 percent margin, in Virginia Ralph Northam won with an 11.8 percent margin of victory while Ed Gillespie won by a 1.2 percent margin.

Governor of New Jersey and Virginia (Democratic primary) - 2017
Virginia Candidate	Virginia Votes	Virginia Votes (%)	New Jersey Candidate	New Jersey Votes	New Jersey Votes (%)
Ralph Northam	303,541	55.90%	Phil Murphy	243,643	48.42%
Tom Perriello	239,505	44.10%	Jim Johnson	110,250	21.91%
			John Wisniewski	108,532	21.57%
			Ray Lesniak	24,318	4.83%
			Bill Brennan	11,263	2.24%
			Mark Zinna	5,213	1.04%

Governor of New Jersey and Virginia (Republican primary) - 2017
Virginia Candidate	Virginia Votes	Virginia Votes (%)	New Jersey Candidate	New Jersey Votes	New Jersey Votes (%)
Ed Gillespie	160,100	43.71%	Kim Guadagno	113,846	46.82%
Corey Stewart	155,780	42.53%	Jack Ciattarelli	75,556	31.08%
Frank Wagner	50,394	13.76%	Hirsh Singh	23,728	9.76%
			Joseph Rudy Rullo	15,816	6.51%
			Steve Rogers	14,187	5.84%

See also

• State executive official elections, 2017
• Governor
• Virginia gubernatorial election, 2017
• New Jersey gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2017
• Virginia state executive official elections, 2017
• New Jersey state executive official elections, 2017

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Governor of Virginia
• Office of the Governor of New Jersey
• Office of the Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey