United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1993, in two states and one territory, as well as for other statewide offices and members of state legislatures. Both seats were originally held by Democrats, but they switched parties following the elections. Additionally, elections were held for the governorship of the Northern Mariana Islands.

As of 2026, this is the last time Democrats won the governorship of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Election results States State Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates New Jersey James Florio Democratic 1989 Incumbent lost re-election.New governor elected.Republican gain. Virginia Douglas Wilder Democratic 1989 Incumbent term-limited.New governor elected.Republican gain.

Territory Territory Incumbent Party Firstelected Result Candidates Northern Mariana Islands Lorenzo I. De Leon Guerrero Republican 1989 Incumbent retired.New governor elected.Democratic gain.

Closest races States where the margin of victory was under 5%: New Jersey, 1.0%

New Jersey

The 1993 New Jersey gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Incumbent Democratic governor James Florio was narrowly defeated by Republican former Somerset County freeholder and 1990 U.S. Senate nominee Christine Todd Whitman. Primary elections were held on June 8, 1993. In the Democratic primary, Governor Florio's only challenger, anti-tax activist John Budzash, was disqualified from the ballot due to invalid petition signatures. In the Republican primary, Whitman defeated W. Cary Edwards and James Wallwork.

Florio's defeat followed backlash from voters against his administration's tax increases.

Virginia

The 1993 Virginia gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1993. Barred from seeking a second term due to term limits restricting consecutive terms for Virginia governor, incumbent Democratic governor L. Douglas Wilder was replaced by Republican nominee and former U.S. representative George Allen. Allen, who had defeated Clinton Miller for the Republican nomination, defeated longtime attorney general of Virginia Mary Sue Terry, the Democratic nominee by 58.27% to 40.89%, which ended 12 consecutive years of Democratic control of the governor's mansion.

Territories Northern Mariana Islands

Notes

References