A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.
State |
Incumbent |
Party |
Status |
Opposing Candidates |
Alabama[1] |
George Wallace |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 83.16% |
Elvin McCary (Republican) 14.77%
Jim Partain (Prohibition) 2.06% |
Alaska[2] |
William Allen Egan |
Democratic |
Defeated, 47.37% |
Jay Hammond (Republican) 47.67%
Joe Vogler (Alaskan Ind.) 4.96% |
Arizona[3] |
Jack Richard Williams |
Republican |
Retired, Democratic victory |
Raul Hector Castro (Democratic) 50.41%
Russell Williams (Republican) 49.56% |
Arkansas[4] |
Dale Bumpers |
Democratic |
Retired, Democratic victory |
David Pryor (Democratic) 65.57%
Ken Coon (Republican) 34.41% |
California |
Ronald Reagan |
Republican |
Retired, Democratic victory |
Jerry Brown (Democratic) 50.11%
Houston I. Flournoy (Republican) 47.25%
Edmon Kaiser (AI) 1.34%
Elizabeth Keathley (PF) 1.2% |
Colorado[5] |
John David Vanderhoof |
Republican |
Defeated, 45.69% |
Richard Lamm (Democratic) 53.26%
Earl Dodge (Prohibition) 0.77%
Lann Meyers (U.S. Labor) 0.28% |
Connecticut[6] |
Thomas Joseph Meskill |
Republican |
Retired, Democratic victory |
Ella T. Grasso (Democratic) 58.35%
Robert H. Steele (Republican) 39.91%
Thomas Pallone (George Wallace Party) 1.51%
Allen Peichert (American) 0.21% |
Florida |
Reubin O'Donovan Askew |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 61.2% |
Jerry Thomas (Republican) 38.8% |
Georgia[7] |
Jimmy Carter |
Democratic |
Term-limited, Democratic victory |
George Busbee (Democratic) 69.07%
Ronnie Thompson (Republican) 30.87% |
Hawaii[8] |
John A. Burns |
Democratic |
Retired, Democratic victory |
George Ariyoshi (Democratic) 54.58%
Randolph Crossley (Republican) 45.42% |
Idaho |
Cecil D. Andrus |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 70.92% |
Jack M. Murphy (Republican) 26.47%
Nolan Victor (American) 2.6% |
Iowa[9] |
Robert D. Ray |
Republican |
Re-elected, 58.07% |
James Schaben (Democratic) 41.02%
Ralph Scott (American) 0.9% |
Kansas[10] |
Robert Docking |
Democratic |
Term-limited, Republican victory |
Robert Frederick Bennett (Republican) 49.47%
Vern Miller (Democratic) 49%
Marshall Uncapher (Prohibition) 1.53% |
Maine |
Kenneth M. Curtis |
Democratic |
Term-limited, Independent victory |
James B. Longley (Independent) 39.14%
George J. Mitchell (Democratic) 36.33%
James Erwin (Republican) 23.13%
Stanley Leen (Independent) 0.79%
William B. Hughes (Independent) 0.36% |
Maryland[11] |
Marvin Mandel |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 63.5% |
Louise Gore (Republican) 36.5% |
Massachusetts |
Francis W. Sargent |
Republican |
Defeated, 42.29% |
Michael Dukakis (Democratic) 53.5%
Leo Kahian (American) 3.4%
Donald Gurewitz (Socialist Workers) .81% |
Michigan[12] |
William Milliken |
Republican |
Re-elected, 51.07% |
Sander M. Levin (Democratic) 46.75%
Zolton Ferency (Human Rights) 1.08%
Hugh M. Davidson (American Independent) .76%
Eldon Andrews (Conservative) .16% |
Minnesota |
Wendell Anderson |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 62.8% |
John W. Johnson (Republican) 29.35%
James Miles (Independent) 4.8%
Harry Pool (American) 1.63%
Jane VanDeusen (Socialist Workers) .74%
Erwin Marquit (Communist) .28% |
Nebraska[13] |
J. James Exon |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 59.16% |
Richard Marvel (Republican) 35.4%
Ernie Chambers (Independent) 5.39% |
Nevada[14] |
Mike O'Callaghan |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 67.38% |
Shirley Crumpler (Republican) 17.1%
James R. Houston (Ind. American) 15.52%
|
New Hampshire[15] |
Meldrim Thomson, Jr. |
Republican |
Re-elected, 51.15% |
Richard W. Leonard (Democratic) 48.79% |
New Mexico[16] |
Bruce King |
Democratic |
Term-limited, Democratic victory |
Jerry Apodaca (Democratic) 49.94%
Joe Skeen (Republican) 48.8%
Gene Gonzales (American Independent) 1.26% |
New York |
Malcolm Wilson |
Republican |
Defeated, 41.94% |
Hugh Carey (Democratic) 57.22%
Wayne Amato (Courage) 0.24% |
Ohio[17] |
John J. Gilligan |
Democratic |
Defeated, 48.25% |
Jim Rhodes (Republican) 48.62%
Nancy Lazar (Independent) 3.11% |
Oklahoma[18] |
David Hall |
Democratic |
Defeated in primary, Democratic victory |
David L. Boren (Democratic) 63.91%
Jim Inhofe (Republican) 36.09% |
Oregon |
Tom McCall |
Republican |
Term-limited, Democratic victory |
Robert W. Straub (Democratic) 57.73%
Victor G. Atiyeh (Republican) 42.14% |
Pennsylvania |
Milton Shapp |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 53.66% |
Andrew L. Lewis, Jr. (Republican) 45.11%
Stephen Depue (Constitutionalist) 0.96%
Frederick L. Stanton (Socialist Workers) 0.26% |
Rhode Island[19] |
Philip W. Noel |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 78.48% |
James Nugent (Republican) 21.52% |
South Carolina |
John C. West |
Democratic |
Term-limited, Republican victory |
James B. Edwards (Republican) 50.68%
William Jennings Bryan Dorn (Democratic) 47.41%
Penny Jennings (Independent) 1.58%
Charles Ravenel (Write-in) .12% |
South Dakota[20] |
Richard F. Kneip |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 53.61% |
John E. Olson (Republican) 46.39% |
Tennessee[21] |
Winfield Dunn |
Republican |
Term-limited, Democratic victory |
Ray Blanton (Democratic) 55.88%
Lamar Alexander (Republican) 44.12% |
Texas[22] |
Dolph Briscoe |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 61.41% |
Jim Granberry (Republican) 31.1%
Ramsey Muniz (La Raza Unida) 5.64%
Sam McDonnell (American) 1.34%
Sherry Smith (Socialist Workers) 0.2% |
Vermont[23] |
Thomas P. Salmon |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 63.03% |
Walter L. Kennedy (Republican) 32.36%
Martha Abbott (Liberty Union) 4.6% |
Wisconsin |
Patrick Lucey |
Democratic |
Re-elected, 53.2% |
William Dyke (Republican) 42.08%
William H. Upham Jr. (American) 2.84%
Crazy Jim (Independent) 1.03%
William O. Hart (Socialist) 0.43% |
Wyoming[24] |
Stanley K. Hathaway |
Republican |
Retired, Democratic victory |
Edgar Herschler (Democratic) 55.88%
Dick Jones (Republican) 44.12% |