The Republican Governors Association is the only Republican campaign committee that got bragging rights on election night. But, they didn’t get to brag as loudly as they had hoped. Republicans picked up the open gubernatorial seat in North Carolina, adding one new Governor to their ranks. Republicans now hold 30 of the 50 governorships, while Democrats have 19, and there is one independent Governor. Neither political party has held 30 gubernatorial seats in a dozen years.
As this election cycle progressed, Republicans hoped that they were in position to pick up as many of four new governorships. A combination of factors, including the presidential contest, a Libertarian candidate, and backlash against an activist conservative state legislature, denied the GOP three of the four seats they had targeted.
There were 11 gubernatorial contests on the ballot this year. Democrats had to defend eight of those compared to only three for Republicans. Republicans easily won their three races as North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert won re-election without much trouble, and Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Pence won
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