United States gubernatorial elections, 1987
Encyclopedia
The United States gubernatorial elections of 1987 were held on November 3, 1987 in three states: Kentucky
, Louisiana
, and Mississippi
. Democrats
retained all three seats up for election even though three new people were elected governor.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
retained all three seats up for election even though three new people were elected governor.
Election results
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.| State | Incumbent | Party | Status | Opposing Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... |
Martha Layne Collins Martha Layne Collins Martha Layne Collins is a politician from the US state of Kentucky. From 1983 to 1987 she was the 56th Governor of Kentucky, having served the previous four years as lieutenant governor. She was Kentucky's first and only female governor to date... |
Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
Term-limited, Democratic victory | Wallace G. Wilkinson Wallace G. Wilkinson Wallace Glenn Wilkinson was an American businessman and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the state's fifty-seventh governor. Wilkinson dropped out of college at the University of Kentucky in 1962 to attend to a book retail business he started... (Democratic) 64.5% John Harper (Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... ) 34.9% |
| Louisiana Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1987 The Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1987 resulted in the election of Buddy Roemer as governor of Louisiana.- Background :Elections in Louisiana—with the exception of U.S. presidential elections—follow a variation of the open primary system called the jungle primary... |
Edwin Edwards Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century... |
Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
Advanced in primary (27.9%), withdrew from runoff | Buddy Roemer Buddy Roemer Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991... (Democratic) 33.2% Bob Livingston Bob Livingston Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana... (Republican) 18.5% Billy Tauzin Billy Tauzin Wilbert Joseph Tauzin II , usually known as Billy Tauzin, American lobbyist and politician of Cajun descent, was President and CEO of PhRMA, a pharmaceutical company lobby group... (Democratic) 9.9% Jim Brown (Democratic) 8.9% Speedy O. Long Speedy O. Long Speedy Oteria Long was a Jena lawyer who was a Democratic U.S. Representative from central Louisiana between 1965 and 1973. Prior to his tenure in the since disbanded Eighth Congressional District, Speedy Long had been a member of the Louisiana state Senate... (Democratic) 1.2% |
| Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi... |
William Allain William Allain William A. "Bill" Allain is a Mississippi politician who served as the 59th Governor of that state as a Democrat from 1984 to 1988.-Biography:... |
Democratic Democratic Party (United States) The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous... |
Retired, Democratic victory | Ray Mabus Ray Mabus Raymond Edwin "Ray" Mabus, Jr. is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy. Mabus served as the 60th Governor of the U.S... (Democratic) 53.4% Jack Reed Jack Reed (Mississippi) Jack Reed, running as a Tupelo, Mississippi businessman, won the Republican nomination for Governor of Mississippi in 1987, defeating Doug Lemon. Reed lost in the general election to Democrat Ray Mabus. At the same time, Reed made a credible showing, winning 47% of the vote, which state... (Republican) 46.6% |