2003 United States gubernatorial elections

United States gubernatorial elections were held in four states. Kentucky and Mississippi held their general elections on November 4. Louisiana held the first round of its jungle primary on October 4 and the runoff on November 15. In addition, California held a recall election on October 7.

The Republican Party had a net gain of two seats in 2003, picking up an open seat in Kentucky, removing a Democratic governor in California, and defeating a Democratic governor in Mississippi, while losing an open seat to the Democrats in Louisiana. The election cycle was unusual because every seat that was up for election changed hands. This was the last time a party made net gains in this cycle of gubernatorial elections until 2019.

Election predictions State Incumbent Lastrace Sabato Result California (recall) Gray Davis 47.26% D | Schwarzenegger 48.58% R (flip) Kentucky Paul Patton 60.70% D | Fletcher55.04% R (flip) Louisiana Mike Foster 62.17% R | Blanco 51.95% D (flip) Mississippi Ronnie Musgrove 49.62% D | Haley Barbour 52.59% R (flip)

Race Summary State Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates California Gray Davis Democratic 1998 Incumbent recalled.New governor elected.Republican gain. Kentucky Paul Patton Democratic 1995 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican gain. Louisiana Mike Foster Republican 1995 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Mississippi Ronnie Musgrove Democratic 1999 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Republican gain.

Closest races States where the margin of victory was under 5%: Louisiana, 3.9%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%: Mississippi, 6.8%

California (recall)

The 2003 California gubernatorial recall election was a special election permitted under California state law. It resulted in voters replacing incumbent Democratic Governor Gray Davis with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. The recall effort spanned the latter half of 2003. Seven of the nine previous governors, including Davis, had faced unsuccessful recall attempts.

After several legal and procedural efforts failed to stop it, California's first-ever gubernatorial recall election was held on October 7, and the results were certified on November 14, 2003, making Davis the first governor recalled in the history of California, and just the second in U.S. history (the first was North Dakota's 1921 recall of Lynn Frazier). California is one of 19 states that allow recalls. Nearly 18 years after the 2003 election, California held a second recall election in 2021; however, that recall was unsuccessful, failing to oust Democratic governor Gavin Newsom.

Kentucky

The 2003 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held to elect the governor of Kentucky on November 4, 2003. Republican candidate Ernie Fletcher defeated Democrat Ben Chandler and became the first Republican governor of Kentucky in 32 years.

Louisiana

The 2003 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on November 15, 2003, to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Foster was not eligible to run for re-election to a third term because of term limits established by the Louisiana Constitution. As of 2023, this is the most recent Louisiana gubernatorial election in which the first-round winner did not win the runoff.

Mississippi

The 2003 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2003, to elect the governor of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour defeated incumbent Democrat Ronnie Musgrove by a margin of 6.78%.

As of 2023, the election remains the most expensive gubernatorial election in state history, with over $18 million having been spent between Barbour and Musgrove. An additional $5 million was spent by the Republican Governors Association, mostly on television advertising. Barbour's victory in the election made him only the second Republican governor of Mississippi since Reconstruction.

2003 United States gubernatorial elections

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