On November 8, 1994, gubernatorial elections were held in 36 states and two territories across the United States. Many seats held by Democratic governors switched to the Republicans during the time known as the Republican Revolution. Notably, this marked the first time since 1969 that Republicans secured the majority of governorships in an election cycle.

Before the elections, 21 seats were held by Democrats, 14 were held by Republicans, and one seat was held by an independent. After the elections, 11 seats would be held by Democrats, 24 by Republicans, and one seat by an independent.

These elections occurred concurrently with the midterm elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. To date, it remains the last time that Democrats have won gubernatorial elections in Florida and Nebraska. Conversely, this election cycle began an ongoing pattern in which Rust Belt states Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin would vote for gubernatorial candidates of the same party, with the sole exception of 2014. As of 2025, this is the last time one party posted a net gain of 10 or more seats.

Election results States State Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates Alabama Jim Folsom Jr. Democratic 1993 Incumbent lost election to full term.New governor elected.Republican gain. Alaska Wally Hickel Republican 19661969 1990 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic gain. Arizona Fife Symington Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker Democratic 1992 Incumbent elected to full term. California Pete Wilson Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Colorado Roy Romer Democratic 1986 Incumbent re-elected. Connecticut Lowell Weicker A Connecticut Party 1990 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Republican gain. Florida Lawton Chiles Democratic 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Georgia Zell Miller Democratic 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Hawaii John D. Waihe'e III Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic hold. Idaho Cecil D. Andrus Democratic 19701977 1986 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Republican gain. Illinois Jim Edgar Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Iowa Terry Branstad Republican 1982 Incumbent re-elected. Kansas Joan Finney Democratic 1990 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Republican gain. Maine John R. McKernan Jr. Republican 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Independent gain. Maryland William D. Schaefer Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Democratic hold. Massachusetts Bill Weld Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Michigan John Engler Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Minnesota Arne Carlson Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Nebraska Ben Nelson Democratic 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Nevada Bob Miller Democratic 1989 Incumbent re-elected. New Hampshire Steve Merrill Republican 1992 Incumbent re-elected. New Mexico Bruce King Democratic 19701974 19781982 1990 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Republican gain. New York Mario Cuomo Democratic 1982 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Republican gain. Ohio George Voinovich Republican 1990 Incumbent re-elected. Oklahoma David Walters Democratic 1990 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Republican gain. Oregon Barbara Roberts Democratic 1990 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic hold. Pennsylvania Bob Casey Sr. Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican gain. Rhode Island Bruce Sundlun Democratic 1990 Incumbent lost renomination.New governor elected.Republican gain. South Carolina Carroll A. Campbell Jr. Republican 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican hold. South Dakota Walter Dale Miller Republican 1993 Incumbent lost nomination to full term.New governor elected.Republican hold. Tennessee Ned McWherter Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican gain. Texas Ann Richards Democratic 1990 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Republican gain. Vermont Howard Dean Democratic 1991 Incumbent re-elected. Wisconsin Tommy Thompson Republican 1986 Incumbent re-elected. Wyoming Mike Sullivan Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican gain.

Territories and federal district Territory Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates District of Columbia Sharon Pratt Democratic 1990 Incumbent lost renomination.New mayor elected.Democratic hold. Guam Joseph Franklin Ada Republican 1986 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic gain. U.S. Virgin Islands Alexander Farrelly Democratic 1986 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Independent gain.

Closest races States where the margin of victory was under 1%: Alaska, 0.2% Maryland, 0.4% Alabama, 0.9%

States where the margin of victory was under 5%: Florida, 1.5% Maine, 1.5% Georgia, 2.1% South Carolina, 2.5% New York, 3.3% Connecticut, 3.5% Rhode Island, 3.8%

States where the margin of victory was under 10%: Pennsylvania, 5.5% Hawaii, 5.9% Texas, 7.6% Arizona, 8.2% Idaho, 8.4% Oregon, 8.5% Tennessee, 9.6% Guam, 9.7% New Mexico, 9.9%

Alabama

The 1994 Alabama gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of Alabama. The election saw Republican Fob James defeat incumbent Democrat Jim Folsom Jr. in an upset. This was the first of three consecutive Alabama gubernatorial elections where the incumbent was defeated.

Alaska

The 1994 Alaska gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Alaska, United States. Democratic candidate Tony Knowles narrowly defeated Republican candidate Jim Campbell and Lieutenant Governor Jack Coghill of the Alaskan Independence Party. In the Republican Revolution year of the 1994 elections, Alaska's was the only governor's seat in the country to switch from Republican to Democratic.

Arizona

The 1994 Arizona gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, for the post of Governor of Arizona. Fife Symington, the incumbent Republican Governor of Arizona, defeated the Democratic nominee Eddie Basha to win a second term in office. However, Symington resigned in 1997 due to a federal indictment on corruption charges.

Arkansas

The 1994 Arkansas gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, as a part of the United States gubernatorial elections, 1994.

California

The 1994 California gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, in the midst of that year's "Republican Revolution". Incumbent Republican Pete Wilson easily won re-election over his main challenger, Democratic State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, the daughter of Pat Brown and younger sister of Jerry Brown, both of whom had previously served as governor. Primaries were held on June 3, 1994.

Colorado

The 1994 Colorado gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994, to select the governor of the state of Colorado. Although Colorado voters passed a term limits ballot measure in 1990 limiting the governors to two terms, it included a provision for Roy Romer, the Democratic incumbent, to be able to run for reelection for a third term. The Republican nominee, Chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Bruce D. Benson, lost by a margin of nearly 18 percent.

Connecticut

The 1994 Connecticut gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, to elect the governor of Connecticut. Republican John G. Rowland won the open seat following the retirement of A Connecticut Party Governor Lowell Weicker. The election was a four-way race between A Connecticut Party Lieutenant Governor Eunice Groark, Republican U.S. Congressman John G. Rowland, Democratic state comptroller Bill Curry, and independent conservative talk show host Tom Scott. Rowland won the election with just 36% of the vote.

Florida

The 1994 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Democratic governor Lawton Chiles won re-election over Republican Jeb Bush, who later won Florida's governorship in 1998 when Chiles was term-limited. This race was the second-closest gubernatorial election in Florida history since Reconstruction, due to the strong Republican wave of 1994.

Georgia

The 1994 Georgia gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 1994, to elect the next governor of Georgia from 1995 to 1999. Incumbent Democratic governor Zell Miller, first elected in 1990, ran for a second term. In his party's primary, Miller received three challengers, but easily prevailed with just over 70% of the vote. The contest for the Republican nomination, however, was a competitive race. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, John Knox and Guy Millner advanced to a run-off election. Millner was victorious and received the Republican nomination after garnering 59.41% of the vote.

The general election was a competitive race between Zell Miller and Guy Millner. Issues such as welfare reform, education, and the removal of the Confederate battle flag from Georgia's state flag dominated the election. On election day, Miller defeated Millner 51.05%-48.95% in the third-closest gubernatorial election in Georgian history – behind only the 2018 and 1966 elections – since Reconstruction due to the strong Republican wave of 1994.

Hawaii

The 1994 Hawaii gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1994. Incumbent Democratic Governor of Hawaii John D. Waihee III was prevented from seeking a third term as Governor due to term limits, creating an open seat. Lieutenant Governor Ben Cayetano emerged from a crowded primary to become the Democratic nominee, facing off against former Administrator of the Small Business Administration Pat Saiki, the Republican nominee and Honolulu Mayor Frank Fasi, who ran as the Best Party of Hawaii's nominee. In a very close election, Cayetano beat Fasi, who placed second, by six percentage points and Saiki, who placed third, winning only a plurality of the vote. Fasi's performance was notable in that it was the best performance by a third party gubernatorial candidate in Hawaii's history.

Idaho

The 1994 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 8 to select the governor of the U.S. state of Idaho. Democratic incumbent Cecil Andrus chose not to seek reelection after a total of fourteen years in office. Former state senator and Republican Party chair Phil Batt rallied to defeat Democratic attorney general Larry Echo Hawk; the victory was the first by a Republican in 28 years.

Illinois

The 1994 Illinois gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor Jim Edgar won reelection in the largest landslide in over a century, after the elections of 1818 and 1848.

Iowa

The 1994 Iowa gubernatorial election took place November 8, 1994. Incumbent Republican Governor of Iowa Terry Branstad ran for re-election to a fourth term as governor. Branstad narrowly defeated a tough challenger in his primary election, emerging victorious by 11,419 votes. On the Democratic side, Attorney General of Iowa Bonnie Campbell won her party's nomination and both Branstad and Campbell moved on to the general election. Branstad ultimately won re-election to a fourth term as governor, defeating Campbell in a landslide.

Kansas

The 1994 Kansas gubernatorial election included Republican Bill Graves who won the open seat vacated by the pending retirement of Governor Joan Finney. He defeated Jim Slattery.

Maine

The 1994 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1994, to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor John McKernan was term-limited and could not seek re-election to a third consecutive term. Independent Angus King won the election.