The Elusive Majority
Four states hold gubernatorial elections in 2018 where winners have fallen short of garnering the support of a majority of voters in at least the last two consecutive cycles. Maine has done so in each of the last four cycles with a plurality of voters electing Democrat John Baldacci in 2002 (47.2 percent) and 2006 (38.1 percent) and Republican Paul LePage in 2010 (38.1 percent) and 2014 (48.2 percent). Three other states elected plurality governors in both the 2010 and 2014 cycles: Florida (Republican Rick Scott with 48.9 percent and 48.1 percent respectively), Massachusetts (Democrat Deval Patrick with 48.5 percent and GOPer Charlie Baker with 48.4 percent), and Rhode Island (independent Lincoln Chafee with 36.1 percent and Democrat Gina Raimondo with 40.7 percent). Minnesota saw its four-cycle streak end in 2014 when DFLer Mark Dayton was reelected with 50.1 percent of the vote.