2023 United States gubernatorial elections

For related races, see 2023 United States elections.

2023 United States gubernatorial elections

November 7, 2023 October 14 (Louisiana)
3 governorships
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Seats before 26 24 Seats after 27 23 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,741,855 1,389,283 Percentage 54.34% 43.34% Seats up 1 2 Races won 2 1
Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2023, in the states of Kentucky and Mississippi, with an election having occurred in Louisiana on October 14. These elections form part of the 2023 United States elections. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all three states were in 2019.

In Louisiana, term-limited incumbent John Bel Edwards was succeeded by Jeff Landry, flipping the seat from Democratic to Republican control. In Kentucky, Democrat Andy Beshear won re-election to a second term. In Mississippi, Republican Tate Reeves won re-election to a second term.

Partisan composition

Going into the election, there were 26 Republican governors and 24 Democratic governors in the United States. This class of governors was made up of 1 Republican and 2 Democrats. Democrats were defending two governorships in states Donald Trump won in 2020 (Kentucky and Louisiana).^[1][2]

Election predictions

Several sites and individuals published predictions of competitive seats. These predictions looked at factors such as the strength of the incumbent (if the incumbent is running for re-election), the strength of the candidates, and the partisan leanings of the state (reflected in part by the state's Cook Partisan Voting Index rating). The predictions assigned ratings to each seat, with the rating indicating a party's predicted advantage in winning that seat.

Most election predictors use:

• "tossup": no advantage
• "tilt" (used by some predictors): advantage that is not quite as strong as "lean"
• "lean": slight advantage
• "likely": significant, but surmountable, advantage
• "safe" or "solid": near-certain chance of victory

State	PVI	Incumbent	Last race	Cook October 23, 2023[3]	IE September 1, 2023[4]	Sabato October 16, 2023[5]	ED November 7, 2023[6]	Result
Kentucky	R+16	Andy Beshear	49.2% D	Lean D	Tilt D	Lean D	Lean D	Beshear 52.5% D
Louisiana	R+12	John Bel Edwards (term-limited)	51.3% D	Lean R (flip)	Likely R (flip)	Likely R (flip)	Safe R (flip)	Landry 51.6% R (flip)
Mississippi	R+11	Tate Reeves	51.9% R	Lean R	Lean R	Likely R	Likely R	Reeves 50.9% R

Race summary

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	General election
Kentucky	Andy Beshear	Democratic	2019	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Andy Beshear (Democratic) 52.5% ▌Daniel Cameron (Republican) 47.5%
Louisiana	John Bel Edwards	Democratic	2015	Incumbent term-limited. Republican gain.	▌Y Jeff Landry (Republican) 51.6% ▌Shawn Wilson (Democratic) 25.9% ▌Stephen Waguespack (Republican) 5.9% ▌John Schroder (Republican) 5.3% Others ▌Hunter Lundy (Independent) 4.9% ▌Danny Cole (Democratic) 2.6% ▌Sharon Hewitt (Republican) 1.7% ▌Benjamin Barnes (Independent) 0.5% ▌Patrick "Dat" Barthel (Republican) 0.4% ▌Richard Nelson (Republican) 0.3% ▌Jeffrey Istre (Independent) 0.3% ▌Xavier Ellis (Republican) 0.2% ▌Keitron Gagnon (Independent) 0.1% ▌Xan John (Republican) 0.1% ▌Frank Scurlock (Independent) 0.1%
Mississippi	Tate Reeves	Republican	2019	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Tate Reeves (Republican) 50.9% ▌Brandon Presley (Democratic) 47.7% ▌Gwendolyn Gray (Independent) 1.4%

Closest states

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

1. Mississippi, 3.24%

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

1. Kentucky, 5.07%

Red denotes states won by Republicans. Blue denotes states won by Democrats.

Kentucky

Kentucky gubernatorial election

Turnout	38.0%
Nominee Andy Beshear Daniel Cameron Party Democratic Republican Running mate Jacqueline Coleman Robby Mills Popular vote 694,482 627,457 Percentage 52.5% 47.5%
Beshear:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Cameron:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election Andy Beshear Democratic Elected Governor Andy Beshear Democratic

Main article: 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election

Governor Andy Beshear was elected in 2019 with 49.2% of the vote and ran for re-election to a second term.^[7] He won the Democratic nomination with little opposition & won the general election.

Attorney general Daniel Cameron, former US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, state auditor Mike Harmon, and agriculture commissioner Ryan Quarles all ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.^[7] Cameron was supported by former president Donald Trump, and led every poll leading to the primary, with Craft and Quarles trailing behind him.^[8] Cameron won the Republican nomination, becoming the first African American major party gubernatorial nominee in Kentucky's history.^[9]

Democratic primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andy Beshear (incumbent)	176,589	91.3
	Democratic	Geoff Young	9,865	5.1
	Democratic	Peppy Martin	6,913	3.6
Total votes			193,367	100.0

Republican primary results^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Daniel Cameron	144,576	47.7
	Republican	Ryan Quarles	65,718	21.7
	Republican	Kelly Craft	52,170	17.2
	Republican	Eric Deters	17,464	5.8
	Republican	Mike Harmon	7,797	2.6
	Republican	Alan Keck	7,317	2.4
	Republican	David Cooper	2,282	0.8
	Republican	Jacob Clark	1,900	0.6
	Republican	Robbie Smith	1,388	0.5
	Republican	Bob DeVore	931	0.3
	Republican	Johnny Rice	726	0.2
	Republican	Dennis Ormerod	696	0.2
Total votes			302,965	100.0

2023 Kentucky gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Andy Beshear (incumbent) Jacqueline Coleman (incumbent)	694,482	52.53%	+3.33%
	Republican	Daniel Cameron Robby Mills	627,457	47.46%	−1.37%
	Write-in		82	0.01%	N/A
Total votes			1,322,021	100.00%
	Democratic hold

Louisiana

Main article: 2023 Louisiana gubernatorial election

2023 Louisiana gubernatorial election

October 14, 2023
Turnout	36.3%
Candidate Jeff Landry Shawn Wilson Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 547,827 275,525 Percentage 51.6% 25.9%   Candidate Stephen Waguespack John Schroder Party Republican Republican Popular vote 62,287 56,654 Percentage 5.9% 5.3%
Landry:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Wilson:      40–50%      70–80%
Governor before election John Bel Edwards Democratic Elected Governor Jeff Landry Republican

Governor John Bel Edwards was re-elected to a second term in 2019 with 51.3% of the vote. He was term-limited by the Louisiana Constitution in 2023, and could not seek reelection for a third consecutive term.

Louisiana utilizes a jungle primary system. Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry was considered the frontrunner. Other candidates included state senator Sharon Hewitt, and Treasurer John Schroder. Democratic Secretary of Transportation Shawn Wilson also ran to succeed Edwards.^[11][12]

Landry won with over 51% of the vote in the primary, becoming the first person to win a Louisiana gubernatorial election without a runoff since Bobby Jindal in 2011. Landry easily prevailed over several Republican opponents and the leading Democratic candidate.^[13]

2023 Louisiana gubernatorial election^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Landry	547,827	51.56%
	Democratic	Shawn Wilson	275,525	25.93%
	Republican	Stephen Waguespack	62,287	5.86%
	Republican	John Schroder	56,654	5.33%
	Independent	Hunter Lundy	52,165	4.91%
	Democratic	Danny Cole	27,662	2.60%
	Republican	Sharon Hewitt	18,468	1.74%
	Independent	Benjamin Barnes	5,190	0.49%
	Republican	Dat Barthel	4,426	0.42%
	Republican	Richard Nelson (withdrawn)	3,605	0.34%
	Independent	Jeffery Istre	3,400	0.32%
	Republican	Xavier Ellis	1,734	0.16%
	Independent	Keitron Gagnon	1,260	0.12%
	Republican	Xan John	1,164	0.11%
	Independent	Frank Scurlock	1,131	0.11%
Total votes			1,062,498	100.00%
	Republican gain from Democratic

Mississippi

Mississippi gubernatorial election

Turnout	42.6%
Nominee Tate Reeves Brandon Presley Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 418,233 391,614 Percentage 50.9% 47.7%
Reeves:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Presley:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%
Governor before election Tate Reeves Republican Elected Governor Tate Reeves Republican

Main article: 2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election

Governor Tate Reeves was elected in 2019 with 51.9% of the vote and ran for re-election to a second term.^[15]

Democrat Brandon Presley, Mississippi Public Service Commissioner for the Northern District, was the Democratic nominee to challenge Reeves.^[16]

Reeves won re-election.

Republican primary results^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tate Reeves (incumbent)	281,213	74.7
	Republican	John Witcher	66,698	17.7
	Republican	David Grady Hardigree	28,561	7.6
Total votes			376,472	100.0

Democratic primary results^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Brandon Presley	196,307	100.0
Total votes			196,307	100.0

2023 Mississippi gubernatorial election^[19]^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Tate Reeves (incumbent)	418,233	50.94	–0.97
	Democratic	Brandon Presley	391,614	47.70	+0.87
	Independent	Gwendolyn Gray (withdrawn)	11,153	1.36	N/A
Total votes			821,000	100.00
	Republican hold

See also

• List of elections in 2023

References

1. Vakil, Caroline (2023-01-02). "Here are the governors' races to watch in 2023". The Hill. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
2. Jacobson, Louis (June 8, 2023). "Democrats Face Uphill Challenge in Three Off-Year Races for Governor". US News & World Report. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
3. "2024 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
4. "Gubernatorial Ratings". insideelections.com. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
5. "2024 Governor – Sabato's Crystal Ball". Retrieved 2023-07-23.
6. Cunningham, Eric (2023-11-07). "Final 2023 Gubernatorial Ratings: Kentucky Moves to Leans Democratic, Mississippi is Likely Republican". Elections Daily. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
7. "Election Candidate Filings - Governor". web.sos.ky.gov. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
8. "Trump endorses Cameron's bid for governor in Kentucky". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
9. "Daniel Cameron wins Republican primary for Kentucky governor". CBS News. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
10. "May 16, 2023 Official 2023 Primary Election Results" (PDF). Kentucky Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 30, 2023. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
11. Karlin, Sam (9 January 2023). "Billy Nungesser to announce he's not running for governor, will seek re-election". The Advocate. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
12. Doyle, Matt (November 19, 2019). "2023 Governor's race could be packed with GOP heavy hitters". Louisiana Radio Network. Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
13. Montellaro, Zach (October 14, 2023). "Landry wins Louisiana governor's race, flipping state red". Politico. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
14. "Official Results for Election Date: 10/14/2023 Governor".
15. Reily, Ross (January 3, 2023). "Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves files for reelection bid". Clarion Ledger.
16. Hernandez, Rachel (2023-01-12). "Brandon Presley joins race for Mississippi governor". WKRG. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
17. "2023 Republican primary results". Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
18. "2023 Democratic primary results". Mississippi Secretary of State. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
19. "Mississippi Governor Election Results". The New York Times. 7 November 2023. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
20. "Mississippi Governor". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2023.