2016 United States gubernatorial elections (Ferguson Scenario)

The 2016 United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 2016 in 12 states and two territories. The last regular gubernatorial elections for nine of the 12 states took place in 2012. The last gubernatorial elections for New Hampshire, Oregon, and Vermont took place in 2014, as Oregon had a special election due to the resignation of Governor Chris Dudley, while the governors of New Hampshire and Vermont both serve two−year terms. The 2016 gubernatorial elections took place concurrently with several other federal, state, and local elections, including the presidential election, Senate, and House elections.

The Republican Party won open Democrat−held governorships in New Hampshire and Vermont; and they also held their open seats in Indiana and North Dakota, maintaining a total of 22 governorships. Democrats finished with 28 governorships, defeating incumbent Pat McCrory in North Carolina, winning an open Republican−held governorship in Oregon, and holding open seats in Delaware, Missouri, and West Virginia.

Race summary

Popular Vote

State/Territory	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes
American Samoa	7,719	64.20	4,305	35.80	−	−	12,024
Delaware	218,598	51.34	206,761	48.56	425	0.10	425,784
Indiana	1,235,503	45.42	1,397,396	51.38	87,069	3.20	2,719,968
Missouri	1,632,214	58.23	1,170,832	41.77	−	−	2,803,046
Montana	327,671	64.33	179,651	35.27	2,038	0.40	509,360
New Hampshire	323,216	44.59	401,647	55.41	−	−	724,863
North Carolina	2,774,316	58.89	1,936,698	41.11	−	−	4,711,014
North Dakota	150,953	44.45	188,003	55.36	645	0.19	339,601
Oregon	985,027	50.62	957,065	49.18	3,954	0.20	1,946,046
Puerto Rico	660,510	41.80	614,190	38.87	315,291	19.33	1,589,991
Utah	374,185	33.26	750,850	66.74	−	−	1,125,035
Vermont	148,478	47.10	166,817	52.90	−	−	315,295
Washington	1,756,000	54.25	1,480,866	45.75	−	−	3,236,866
West Virginia	411,896	57.70	301,962	42.30	−	−	713,858
Total	11,006,286	51.98	9,757,043	46.09	409,422	1.93	21,172,751

States

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Delaware	Jack Markell	Democratic	2008	Incumbent term−limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y John Carney (Democratic) 51.3% Ken Simpler (Republican) 48.6% Sean L. Goward (Libertarian) 0.1%
Indiana	Mike Pence	Republican	2012	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Eric Holcomb (Republican) 51.4% John R. Gregg (Democratic) 45.4% Rex Bell (Libertarian) 3.2%
Missouri	Jay Nixon	Democratic	2008	Incumbent term−limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Chris Koster (Democratic) 58.2% Eric Greitens (Republican) 41.8%
Montana	Steve Bullock	Democratic	2012	Incumbent re−elected.	Y Steve Bullock (Democratic) 64.3% Greg Gianforte (Republican) 35.3% Ted Dunlap (Libertarian) 0.3% Christopher Zarcone (Green) 0.1%
New Hampshire	Maggie Hassan	Democratic	2012	Incumbent retired to run for U.S. senator. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Chris Sununu (Republican) 55.4% Colin Van Ostern (Democratic) 44.6%
North Carolina	Pat McCrory	Republican	2012	Incumbent lost re−election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Roy Cooper (Democratic) 58.9% Pat McCrory (Republican) 41.1%
North Dakota	Jack Dalrymple	Republican	2010	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Y Doug Burgum (Republican) 55.4% Marvin Nelson (Democratic) 44.4% Marty Riske (Libertarian) 0.2%
Oregon (special)	Dennis Richardson	Republican	2015	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Kate Brown (Democratic) 50.6% Bud Pierce (Republican) 49.2% James Foster (Libertarian) 0.1% Aaron D. Auer (Constitution) 0.1%
Utah	Gary Herbert	Republican	2009	Incumbent re−elected.	Y Gary Herbert (Republican) 66.7% Mike Weinholtz (Democratic) 33.3%
Vermont	Peter Shumlin	Democratic	2010	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Y Phil Scott (Republican) 52.9% Sue Minter (Democratic) 47.1%
Washington	Jay Inslee	Democratic	2012	Incumbent re−elected.	Y Jay Inslee (Democratic) 54.2% Bill Bryant (Republican) 45.8%
West Virginia	Earl Ray Tomblin	Democratic	2010	Incumbent term−limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Jim Justice (Democratic) 57.7% Bill Cole (Republican) 42.3%

Territories

Territory	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
American Samoa	Lolo Matalasi Moliga	Democratic	2012	Incumbent re−elected.	Y Lolo Matalasi Moliga (Democratic) 64.2% Tuika Tuika (Republican) 35.8%
Puerto Rico	Alejandro García Padilla	Popular Democratic	2012	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. New Progressive gain.	Y Ricardo Rosselló (PNP) 41.8% David Bernier (PPD) 38.9% Alexandra Lúgaro (Ind) 11.1% Manuel Cidre (Ind) 5.7% María de Lourdes Santiago (PIP) 2.1%

Statistics

Closest races

States where the margin of victory was between 1% and 5%:

1. Oregon, 1.44%
2. Delaware, 2.78%
3. Puerto Rico, 2.93%

States where the margin of victory was between 5% and 10%:

1. Vermont, 5.80%
2. Indiana, 5.96%
3. Washington, 8.50%

Red denotes states won by Republicans. Blue denotes states won by Democrats. Dark Blue denotes race won by New Progressives.

Partisan control of states

All of the states that held gubernatorial elections in 2016 also held state legislative elections in 2016, although some legislative seats were not up for election in states that stagger legislative elections.

	Before election			After election
State	Governor	Senate	House	Governor	Senate	House
Delaware	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem
Indiana	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep
Missouri	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem
Montana	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem
New Hampshire	Dem	Dem	Dem	Rep	Dem	Dem
North Carolina	Rep	Dem	Rep	Dem	Dem	Rep
North Dakota	Rep	Rep	Dem	Rep	Dem	Dem
Oregon	Rep	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem
Utah	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep	Rep
Vermont	Dem	Dem	Dem	Rep	Dem	Dem
Washington	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem
West Virginia	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem	Dem

Delaware

Two−term incumbent Governor Jack Markell was term−limited in 2016. Former Democratic Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, the son of former Senator Joe Biden, announced his intention to run and was seen as the front−runner in the Democratic primary and general election, but he died of brain cancer at the age of 46 on May 30, 2015. Representative John Carney, a former Lieutenant Governor of Delaware who also ran for governor in 2008, won the Democratic nomination. Delaware State Treasurer Ken Simpler won the Republican nomination.

Carney won the election, taking 51.3% of the vote to Simpler's 48.6%.

Delaware Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Ken Simpler	21,150	69.88%
	Republican	Lacey Lafferty	9,115	30.12%
Totals			30,265	100.00%

Delaware general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John Carney	218,598	51.34%
	Republican	Ken Simpler	206,761	48.56%
	Libertarian	Sean Louis Goward	425	0.10%
Totals			425,784	100.00%

Indiana

One−term incumbent Governor Mike Pence announced his bid for re−election. Pence won in 2012 with 49.6% of the vote. Pence previously served as a U.S. Representative from 2001 to 2013 and was Chairman of the House Republican Conference from 2009 to 2011. He had expressed interest for running for President of the United States in the 2016 United States presidential election but declined. However, Pence withdrew his bid for a second term on July 15, 2016 due to personal reasons. He was replaced as the gubernatorial nominee by Lieutenant Governor Eric Holcomb.

The 2012 Democratic nominee, former State House Speaker John R. Gregg, won the Democratic nomination without opposition.

Holcomb won the election with 51.4% of the vote, while Gregg took 45.4%.

Indiana Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican (inc.)	Mike Pence	815,699	100.00%
Totals			815,699	100.00%

Indiana Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	John R. Gregg	547,375	100.00%
Totals			547,375	100.00%

Indiana general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Eric Holcomb	1,397,396	51.38%
	Democratic	John R. Gregg	1,235,503	45.42%
	Libertarian	Rex Bell	87,025	3.20%
	Write−in		44	0.00%
Totals			2,719,968	100.00%

Missouri

Two−term incumbent Governor Jay Nixon was term−limited in 2016. U.S. Senator and 2004 gubernatorial nominee Claire McCaskill and State Treasurer Clint Zweifel declined to run for governor. On August 3, 2016, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster won the nomination with a dominating 79% of the primary vote.

Former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives Catherine Hanaway, businessman John Brunner, State Senator Bob Dixon, former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder ran for the Republican nomination. State Representative Bart Korman and U.S. Representative Ann Wagner declined to run for governor. Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich had been a candidate for governor before he committed suicide in February 2015. On August 3, 2016, Greitens won the nomination with 35% of the vote.

Koster won the election, taking 58.2% of the vote to Greitens's 41.8%.

Missouri Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Chris Koster	256,272	78.75%
	Democratic	Eric Morrison	31,474	9.67%
	Democratic	Charles Wheeler	25,756	7.92%
	Democratic	Leonard Steinman	11,911	3.66%
Totals			325,413	100.00%

Missouri Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Eric Greitens	236,481	34.56%
	Republican	John Brunner	169,620	24.79%
	Republican	Peter Kinder	141,629	20.70%
	Republican	Catherine Hanaway	136,521	19.95%
Totals			684,251	100.00%

Missouri general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Chris Koster	1,632,214	58.23%
	Republican	Eric Greitens	1,170,832	41.77%
Totals			2,803,046	100.00%

Montana

One−term incumbent Governor Steve Bullock ran for re−election. Bullock was elected in 2012 with 48.9% of the vote. He previously served as Attorney General of Montana from 2009 to 2013.

The planning administrator of Ravalli County, Terry Nelson, ran for the nomination, but was defeated by businessman Greg Gianforte. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox had been speculated as a potential candidate, but instead chose to run for re−election.

Bullock won re−election in a landslide, taking 64.3% of the vote. Gianforte won 35.3% of the vote.

Montana Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Steve Bullock	109,450	91.26%
	Democratic	Bill McChesney	10,486	8.74%
Totals			119,936	100.00%

Montana Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Greg Gianforte	109,882	76.38%
	Republican	Terry Nelson	33,987	23.62%
Totals			143,869	100.00%

Montana general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic (inc.)	Steve Bullock	327,671	64.33%
	Republican	Greg Gianforte	179,651	35.27%
	Libertarian	Ted Dunlap	1,681	0.33%
	Green	Christopher Zarcone	357	0.07%
Totals			509,360	100.00%

New Hampshire

Two−term Democratic incumbent Governor Maggie Hassan ran for the U.S. Senate, narrowly defeating incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte, instead of running for a third term as governor. She had won a second term in 2014 with 62% of the vote against Republican businessman Walt Havenstein. Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern defeated Deputy Secretary of State Steve Marchand and Director of Securities Regulation Mark Connolly for the Democratic nomination.

Executive Councilor Chris Sununu, state representative and entrepreneur Frank Edelbut, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, state senator Jeanie Forrester, and John Lavoie ran for the Republican nomination. Sununu defeated his challengers.

Sununu won the election with 55.4% of the vote. Van Ostern won 44.6%.

New Hampshire Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Colin Van Ostern	37,696	51.99%
	Democratic	Steve Marchand	18,338	25.29%
	Democratic	Mark Connolly	14,840	20.47%
	Democratic	Ian Freeman	1,069	1.47%
	Democratic	Derek Dextraze	557	0.77%
Totals			72,500	100.00%

New Hampshire Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Chris Sununu	34,137	30.68%
	Republican	Frank Edelbut	33,149	29.79%
	Republican	Ted Gatsas	22,840	20.53%
	Republican	Jeanie Forrester	19,716	17.72%
	Republican	John Lavoie	1,429	1.28%
Totals			111,271	100.00%

New Hampshire general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Chris Sununu	401,647	55.41%
	Democratic	Colin Van Ostern	323,216	44.59%
Totals			724,863	100.00%

North Carolina

One−term incumbent Governor Pat McCrory ran for re−election. McCrory was elected in 2012 with 54.7% of the vote. McCrory previously served as Mayor of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper defeated former State Representative Kenneth Spaulding to win the Democratic nomination for governor. James Protzman, a former Chapel Hill town council member, had declared his candidacy, but later withdrew from the race. United States Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx declined to run for governor.

Cooper won the election in a landslide. He obtained 58.9% of the vote, while McCrory won 41.1%.

North Carolina Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican (inc.)	Pat McCrory	560,867	52.76%
	Republican	Robert Brawley	420,871	39.59%
	Republican	Charles Moss	81,315	7.65%
Totals			1,063,053	100.00%

North Carolina Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Roy Cooper	710,658	68.70%
	Democratic	Kenneth Spaulding	323,774	31.30%
Totals			1,034,432	100.00%

North Carolina general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Roy Cooper	2,774,316	58.89%
	Republican (inc.)	Pat McCrory	1,936,698	41.11%
Totals			4,711,014	100.00%

North Dakota

One−term incumbent Governor Jack Dalrymple declined to seek re−election. Dalrymple was elected to his first full term with 68.4% of the vote in 2012, after first taking the seat in 2010 following the resignation of John Hoeven. Dalrymple was previously Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota from 2000 to 2010.

Republican candidates included Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, businessman Doug Burgum, and State Representative and plastic surgeon Rick Becker. Burgum won the nomination.

Potential Democratic candidates included former U.S. Representative Earl Pomeroy, State Senator George B. Sinner, and State Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider. Former Agriculture Commissioner Sarah Vogel formed an exploratory committee, but on August 28, 2016, withdrew from the race. Senator Heidi Heitkamp declined to run for governor. State representative Marvin Nelson won his party's nomination.

Burgum won the election, taking 55.4% of the vote, while Nelson won 44.4%.

North Dakota Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Doug Burgum	68,042	59.47%
	Republican	Wayne Stenehjem	44,158	38.59%
	Republican	Rick Becker	2,164	1.89%
	Write−in		51	0.04%
Totals			114,415	100.00%

North Dakota Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Marvin Nelson	17,278	99.66%
	Write−in		59	0.34%
Totals			17,337	100.00%

North Dakota general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Doug Burgum	188,003	55.36%
	Democratic	Marvin Nelson	150,953	44.45%
	Libertarian	Marty Riske	645	0.19%
Totals			339,601	100.00%

Oregon (special)

Governor Chris Dudley, who won reelection with 55.8% of the vote in 2014, announced his resignation on November 13, 2015, amid controversy surrounding his wife's contracts and work within his administration. Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson was sworn in as governor on November 16, 2015, upon Dudley's resignation. In accordance with the Constitution of Oregon, a special election was held in 2016 for the remainder of the term to which Dudley was elected in 2014. Richardson declined to run for a term of his own, and the Republican nomination was won by Bud Pierce, an oncologist from Salem. He was opposed by Democrat Kate Brown.

Brown won the election, taking 50.6% of the vote compared to Pierce's 49.2%. In winning, Kate Brown became the first openly LGBT Governor elected in the United States.

Oregon Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Kate Brown	494,890	83.03%
	Democratic	Julian Bell	49,313	8.27%
	Democratic	Dave Stauffer	16,108	2.70%
	Democratic	Steve Johnson	13,363	2.24%
	Democratic	Kevin M. Forsythe	10,147	1.70%
	Democratic	Chet Chance	5,636	0.95%
	Write−in		6,595	1.11%
Totals			596,052	100.00%

Oregon Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Bud Pierce	171,158	47.66%
	Republican	Allen Alley	103,388	28.79%
	Republican	Bruce Cuff	41,598	11.58%
	Republican	Bob Niemeyer	35,669	9.93%
	Republican	Bob Forthan	4,290	1.19%
	Write−in		3,020	0.84%
Totals			359,123	100.00%

Oregon general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Kate Brown	985,027	50.62%
	Republican	Bud Pierce	957,065	49.18%
	Libertarian	James Foster	2,530	0.13%
	Write−in		1,424	0.07%
Totals			1,946,046	100.00%

Utah

Incumbent Governor Gary Herbert ran for re−election. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009 and became governor after Jon Huntsman Jr. resigned to become United States Ambassador to China. He won the seat in a 2010 special election and was elected to his first full term with 58.2% of the vote in 2012. Herbert defeated businessman Jonathan Johnson to win the nomination.

Businessman Michael Weinholtz won the Democratic nomination. U.S. Senator Jim Matheson declined to run.

Herbert won re−election, taking 66.7% of the vote to Weinholtz's 33.3%.

Utah Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican (inc.)	Gary Herbert	176,866	71.75%
	Republican	Jonathan E. Johnson	69,663	28.25%
Totals			246,529	100.00%

Utah general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican (inc.)	Gary Herbert	750,850	66.74%
	Democratic	Mike Weinholtz	374,185	33.26%
Totals			1,125,035	100.00%

Vermont

Three−term incumbent Governor Peter Shumlin declined to seek re−election. He was re−elected with 49.1% of the vote in 2014. As he did not receive a majority of the vote, the Vermont General Assembly was required to choose the winner. The Vermont Assembly chose Shumlin over Republican nominee Scott Milne by 110 votes to 69.

Sue Minter defeated former state senator Matt Dunne for the Democratic nomination for governor. House Speaker Shap Smith withdrew from the race. Former lieutenant governor Doug Racine declined to run for governor.

Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott won the Republican nomination. Former state senator and former Vermont Auditor of Accounts Randy Brock and 2014 Republican nominee Scott Milne declined to run for governor.

Scott won the election, taking 52.9% compared to Minter's 47.1%.

Vermont Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Sue Minter	35,979	51.20%
	Democratic	Matt Dunne	26,699	38.00%
	Democratic	Peter W. Galbraith	6,616	9.40%
	Democratic	Cris Ericson	538	0.80%
	Democratic	H. Brooke Paige	387	0.60%
	Write−in		579	1.84%
Totals			70,798	100.00%

Vermont Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Phil Scott	27,669	60.50%
	Republican	Bruce Lisman	18,103	39.50%
Totals			45,772	100.00%

Vermont general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Phil Scott	166,817	52.90%
	Democratic	Sue Minter	148,478	47.10%
Totals			315,295	100.00%

Washington

One−term incumbent Governor Jay Inslee ran for re−election. Inslee was elected in 2012 with 51.4% of the vote against Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna. Inslee previously served as a U.S. Representative from 1993 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2012. Seattle Port Commissioner Bill Bryant advanced to the November general election.

Inslee won re−election with 54.3% of the vote. Bryant won 45.7%.

Washington Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic (inc.)	Jay Inslee	687,412	90.83%
	Democratic	Patrick O'Rourke	40,572	5.36%
	Democratic	James Robert Deal	14,623	1.93%
	Democratic	Johnathan Dodds	14,152	1.88%
Totals			756,759	100.00%

Washington Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Bill Bryant	534,519	89.67%
	Republican	Bill Hirt	48,382	8.12%
	Republican	Michael Nelson	13,191	2.21%
Totals			596,092	100.00%

Washington general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic (inc.)	Jay Inslee	1,756,000	54.25%
	Republican	Bill Bryant	1,480,866	45.75%
Totals			3,236,866	100.00%

West Virginia

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was term−limited in 2016. Tomblin was first elected in a 2011 special election after Joe Manchin resigned following his election to the United States Senate. Tomblin then won election to a full term in 2012.

Democratic candidates included former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, State Senator Jeff Kessler, and businessman Jim Justice. U.S. Senator Carte Goodwin, former speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates Rick Thompson, West Virginia State Treasurer John Perdue, State Senator Mike Green, and State Delegate Doug Reynolds, as well as West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant declined to seek the nomination. On May 10, 2016, Justice won the Democratic primary and became the nominee.

State Senator Bill Cole won the Republican nomination unopposed.

Justice won the election, taking 57.7% of the vote. Cole won 42.3%.

West Virginia Democratic primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Jim Justice	132,704	51.39%
	Democratic	Booth Goodwin	65,416	25.32%
	Democratic	Jeff Kessler	60,230	23.31%
Totals			258,350	100.00%

West Virginia Republican primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Bill Cole	161,127	100.00%
Totals			161,127	100.00%

West Virginia general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Jim Justice	411,896	57.70%
	Republican	Bill Cole	301,962	42.30%
Totals			713,858	100.00%

Territories

American Samoa

One−term incumbent Governor Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga ran for re−election. Moliga was elected in 2012 with 52.9% of the vote in the second round, after taking 33.5% of the vote in the first round. American Samoa requires a second round of voting if no candidate takes a majority of the vote in the first round.

Moliga won re−election.

American Samoa general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic (inc.)	Lolo Matalasi Moliga	7,719	64.20%
	Republican	Tuika Tuika	4,305	35.80%
Totals			12,024	100.00%

Puerto Rico

One−term incumbent Governor Alejandro García Padilla was eligible to run for re−election, but chose to retire. García Padilla is a member of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP).

David Bernier, former Secretary of State of Puerto Rico and former President of the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, won the PDP nomination for governor.

Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, who is affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP) and activist and political commentator Ricky Rosselló sought the PNP nomination for governor, and Rosselló won the nomination.

Rosselló won the election.

Puerto Rico New Progressive primary
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	New Progressive	Ricardo Rosselló	236,524	51.09%
	New Progressive	Pedro Pierluisi	226,449	48.91%
Totals			462,973	100.00%

Puerto Rico general election
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	New Progressive	Ricardo Rosselló	660,510	41.80%
	Popular Democratic	David Bernier	614,190	38.87%
	Independent	Alexandra Lúgaro	175,831	11.13%
	Independent	Manuel Cidre	90,494	5.73%
	Puerto Rican Independence	María de Lourdes Santiago	33,729	2.13%
	Worker's People Party of Puerto Rico	Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl	5,430	0.34%
Totals			1,589,991	100.00%