| Election Name: | 1976 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Country: | United States |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | No |
| Previous Election: | 1975 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Previous Year: | 1975 |
| Next Election: | 1977 United States gubernatorial elections |
| Next Year: | 1977 |
| Seats For Election: | 15 governorships 14 states; 1 territory |
| Election Date: | November 2, 1976 |
| 1Blank: | Seats up |
| 2Blank: | Seats won |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Seats Before1: | 36 |
| Seats After1: | 37 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| 1Data1: | 8 |
| 2Data1: | 9 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Seats Before2: | 13 |
| Seats After2: | 12 |
| Seat Change2: | 1 |
| 1Data2: | 6 |
| 2Data2: | 5 |
| Map Size: | 324px |
United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 2, 1976, in 14 states and one territory. Democrats achieved a net gain of one in these elections. This coincided with the House, Senate elections and the presidential election.
This was the last year in which Illinois held a gubernatorial election on the same year as the presidential election. The state of Illinois moved its gubernatorial election date to midterm congressional election years. As a result, the governor elected this year, served a term of only two years.
A bolded state name features an article about the specific election.
| State | Incumbent | Party | First elected | Result | Candidates | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | David Pryor | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected.[1] | nowrap |
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| Delaware | Sherman W. Tribbitt | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-election.[2] New governor elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
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| Illinois | Dan Walker | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-nomination.[3] [4] New governor elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
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| Indiana | Otis Bowen | 1972 | Incumbent re-elected.[5] | nowrap |
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| Missouri | Kit Bond | 1972 | Incumbent lost re-election.[6] New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
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| Montana | Thomas Lee Judge | 1972 | Incumbent re-elected.[7] | nowrap |
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| New Hampshire | Meldrim Thomson Jr. | 1972 | Incumbent re-elected.[8] | nowrap |
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| North Carolina | James Holshouser | 1972 | Incumbent term-limited.[9] New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
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| North Dakota | Arthur A. Link | Democratic-NPL | 1972 | Incumbent re-elected.[10] | nowrap |
| ||
| Rhode Island | Philip Noel | 1972 | Incumbent retired.[11] New governor elected. Democratic hold. | nowrap |
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| Utah | Cal Rampton | 1964 | Incumbent retired.[12] New governor elected. Democratic hold. | nowrap |
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| Vermont | Thomas P. Salmon | 1972 | Incumbent retired.[13] New governor elected. Republican gain. | nowrap |
| |||
| Washington | Daniel J. Evans | 1964 | Incumbent retired.[14] New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
| |||
| West Virginia | Arch A. Moore Jr. | 1968 | Incumbent term-limited.[15] New governor elected. Democratic gain. | nowrap |
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