1983 United States gubernatorial elections

1983 United States gubernatorial elections

October 22 and November 3, 1983
4 governorships 3 states; 1 territory
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Seats before 34 16 Seats after 35 15 Seat change 1 1 Seats up 2 1 Seats won 3 0
Democratic hold   Democratic gain

United States gubernatorial elections were held on October 22 and November 3, 1983, in three states and one territory. Following the elections, the Democratic Party held all three seats.

Election results

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Kentucky	John Y. Brown Jr.	Democratic	1979	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y Martha Layne Collins (Democratic) 54.5% Jim Bunning (Republican) 44.1% Nicholas McCubbin (Independent) 1.4%
Louisiana	David Treen	Republican	1979	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Y Edwin Edwards (Democratic) 62.3% David Treen (Republican) 36.4% Robert M. Ross (Republican) 0.5% Ken "Cousin Ken" Lewis (Democratic) 0.3% Charlie Moore (Independent) 0.1% Floyd W. Smith, Jr. (Democratic) 0.1% Midiele Smith (Independent) 0.1% Joseph T. Robino (Independent) 0.1% Michael Musmeci (Democratic) 0.1%
Mississippi	William Winter	Democratic	1979	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic hold.	Y William Allain (Democratic) 55.1% Leon Bramlett (Republican) 38.9% Charles Evers (Independent) 4.1% Billie H. Taylor (Independent) 1.1% Henry McMullen Williams (Independent) 0.8%

Kentucky

1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election

November 8, 1983
Turnout	55.6% 1.3 pp
Nominee Martha Layne Collins Jim Bunning Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 561,674 454,650 Percentage 54.50% 44.11%
Collins:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Bunning:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Governor before election John Y. Brown Jr. Democratic Elected Governor Martha Layne Collins Democratic

The 1983 Kentucky gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1983. Democratic nominee Martha Layne Collins defeated Republican nominee Jim Bunning with 54.50% of the vote, replacing outgoing governor John Y. Brown Jr., and becoming the first female governor of Kentucky.

Louisiana

1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election

October 22, 1983

Nominee Edwin Edwards Dave Treen Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,002,798 585,692 Percentage 62.31% 36.39%

Parish results Edwards:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Treen:      50–60%

Governor before election Dave Treen Republican Elected Governor Edwin Edwards Democratic

The 1983 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held to elect the governor of Louisiana. Incumbent Republican governor Dave Treen lost re-election to a second term, defeated by former Democratic governor Edwin Edwards. Edwards became the first governor since Earl Long to win non-consecutive terms. He also became the first to serve three full terms.

Under Louisiana's jungle primary system, all candidates appear on the same ballot, regardless of party, and voters may vote for any candidate, regardless of their party affiliation. A runoff would be held if no candidate received an absolute majority of the vote during the primary election. On October 12, 1983, Edwards and Treen took the two highest popular vote counts, but a runoff election was not held as Edwards won over 50% of the vote in the primary.

Mississippi

1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election

November 8, 1983

Nominee William Allain Leon Bramlett Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 409,209 288,764 Percentage 55.10% 38.88%

County results Allain:      50-60%      60-70%      70-80%      80-90% Bramlett:      50-60%

Governor before election William Winter Democratic Elected Governor William Allain Democratic

The 1983 Mississippi gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1983, in order to elect the Governor of Mississippi. Incumbent Democrat William Winter was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a second term.