Highest % anyone got running for their 1st term??

[Smash255]

Does anyone know the highest % any candidate ever received running for their 1st term for Govenor?  And is it possible that Spitzer could come close or exceed that mark?  As it looks like Spitzer will be somewhere in the 70's.

[jman724]

I wish there was some site with reliable information for governor races from all states dating back through all the years.  I would venture a guess that Spitzer would not make any records or come close.  I don't have any exact numbers, but during the era of Democratic domination of the south, the primary race for governor is what counted.  Upon winning the primary they were shoo-ins.  I would guess that there were a few Dems that broke 80% in the general but hopefully someone has real information on it and not just a guess. 

[Adlai Stevenson]

Ronald Reagan got 58% running for his first term in 1966 when he defeated Pat Brown.  In 1970 he won 52% against Jesse Unruh.  This is just one example. 

[Joe Republic]

The gubernatorial election data on this site only goes as far back as 1996, but in that time, Joe Manchin scored the highest vote total for his first term, which was 63.51% in 2004.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Does anyone know the highest % any candidate ever received running for their 1st term for Govenor? 

Presumably a Democrat in the Deep South at some point.

[adam]

Has there ever been an unnopposed Gubernatiorial candidate running for their first term?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Has there ever been an unnopposed Gubernatiorial candidate running for their first term?

Yes; I think every Democratic candidate for SC Governer from the end of the 19th century to the '60's ran unopposed. Not sure if any of the primaries were unnopposed though.

[nclib]

The gubernatorial election data on this site only goes as far back as 1996, but in that time, Joe Manchin scored the highest vote total for his first term, which was 63.51% in 2004.

Actually Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) got 67.70% in 1998, though he was an incumbent Senator when he ran.

[Gustaf]

What about this year's Idaho race?

[nclib]

Looks like Spitzer's 69% is the largest percentage anyone's gotten for their first-term in quite a while.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Has anyone ever beaten Spitzer for a pickup election?

[nclib]

Has anyone ever beaten Spitzer for a pickup election?

As far as the Atlas goes back, the only ones that even come close were:

Strickland, OH 60% (2006)
Benson, NH 59% (2002)

I wonder what the 1994 data will look like when it goes up.

[Sam Spade]

How the mighty have fallen...

[JohnnyLongtorso]

If you count Nebraska's Dave Heineman, he got 73.4% running for his first full term.

[bgwah]

Does anyone know the highest % any candidate ever received running for their 1st term for Govenor? 

Presumably a Democrat in the Deep South at some point.

Yes.

I uploaded Alabama back to the 40s. George Wallace got 96% when he ran in 1962. I think that's the highest of data on this website at least--although you're probably right about SC.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

The problem is, in the Deep South, the primaries were what mattered.  So, for those states, we should look at the primary elections.

[Mr.Phips]

In 1990, Democrat Bruce Sundlin beat incumbent Republican Governor Ed DuPrete with 74% of the vote.  That has got to be a record for a challenger.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Amusingly Sundlun actually lost in the Democratic primary to Myrth York four years later.

[Verily]

Amusingly Sundlun actually lost in the Democratic primary to Myrth York four years later.

To be fair, she was still a credible politician in 1994.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

In 1990, Democrat Bruce Sundlin beat incumbent Republican Governor Ed DuPrete with 74% of the vote.  That has got to be a record for a challenger.

That's definitely a top competitor, but there have to be other challengers who beat incumbents with one foot in the jail cell already.

[Mr.Phips]

In 1990, Democrat Bruce Sundlin beat incumbent Republican Governor Ed DuPrete with 74% of the vote.  That has got to be a record for a challenger.

That's definitely a top competitor, but there have to be other challengers who beat incumbents with one foot in the jail cell already.

Not by those kind of margins.  Even Bob Riley barely beat Don Siegelman in Alabama in 2002. 

[MAS117]

Check the approval ratings of Mark Warner when he was Governor. He could have tapped the 80% mark at some point.

[Joe Republic]

Check the approval ratings of Mark Warner when he was Governor. He could have tapped the 80% mark at some point.

Warner won the 2001 election with 52%, so I don't see your point.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

In 1990, Democrat Bruce Sundlin beat incumbent Republican Governor Ed DuPrete with 74% of the vote.  That has got to be a record for a challenger.

That's definitely a top competitor, but there have to be other challengers who beat incumbents with one foot in the jail cell already.

Not by those kind of margins.  Even Bob Riley barely beat Don Siegelman in Alabama in 2002. 

Oh, that's just because Alabama is retarded.

[DWPerry]

In 1990, Democrat Bruce Sundlin beat incumbent Republican Governor Ed DuPrete with 74% of the vote.  That has got to be a record for a challenger.

That's definitely a top competitor, but there have to be other challengers who beat incumbents with one foot in the jail cell already.

Not by those kind of margins.  Even Bob Riley barely beat Don Siegelman in Alabama in 2002. 

Oh, that's just because Alabama is retarded.

We say the same about Massachusetts!