1988 United States gubernatorial elections

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14 governorships
12 states; 2 territories

	Majority party	Minority party
Party	Democratic	Republican
Seats before	27[a]	23
Seats after	28	22
Seat change	Increase1	Decrease1
Seats up	4	8
Seats won	5	7

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• 1988 Rhode Island gubernatorial election
• 1988 Delaware gubernatorial election
• 1988 Indiana gubernatorial election
• 1988 Missouri gubernatorial election
• 1988 Montana gubernatorial election
• 1988 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
• 1988 North Carolina gubernatorial election
• 1988 North Dakota gubernatorial election
• 1988 Utah gubernatorial election
• 1988 Vermont gubernatorial election
• 1988 Washington gubernatorial election
• 1988 West Virginia gubernatorial election
• 1988 Puerto Rico gubernatorial election
• 1988 American Samoa gubernatorial election

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 8, 1988, in 12 states and two territories. Going into the elections, eight seats were held by Republicans, and four by Democrats. After the elections, the Democrats had a net gain of one seat. The elections coincided with the United States House elections, United States Senate elections and presidential election. As of 2025, this is the last time that a Republican was elected as a Governor of Delaware, and the last time a Democrat was elected as a Governor of North Dakota.

State	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Arizona (recall)	Evan Mecham	Republican	1986	Already scheduled recall election cancelled after Mecham's impeachment Secretary of State Rose Mofford (D) succeeded him.
Delaware	Mike Castle	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY Mike Castle (Republican) 70.7% Jacob Kreshtool (Democratic) 29.3%
Indiana	Robert D. Orr	Republican	1980	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Green tickY Evan Bayh (Democratic) 53.2% John Mutz (Republican) 46.8%
Missouri	John Ashcroft	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY John Ashcroft (Republican) 64.2% Betty Cooper Hearnes (Democratic) 34.8% Mike Roberts (Libertarian) 1.0%
Montana	Ted Schwinden	Democratic	1980	Incumbent term-limited. New governor elected. Republican gain.	Green tickY Stan Stephens (Republican) 51.9% Thomas Lee Judge (Democratic) 46.1%
New Hampshire	John H. Sununu	Republican	1982	Incumbent retired. New governor elected. Republican hold.	Green tickY Judd Gregg (Republican) 60.4% Paul McEachern (Democratic) 39.0%
North Carolina	James G. Martin	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY James G. Martin (Republican) 56.1% Robert B. Jordan (Democratic) 43.9%
North Dakota	George A. Sinner	Democratic-NPL	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY George A. Sinner (Democratic-NPL) 59.9% Leon L. Mallberg (Republican) 40.1%
Rhode Island	Edward D. DiPrete	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY Edward D. DiPrete (Republican) 50.8% Bruce Sundlun (Democratic) 49.2%
Utah	Norman H. Bangerter	Republican	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY Norman H. Bangerter (Republican) 40.1% Ted Wilson (Democratic) 38.4% Merrill Cook (Independent) 21.1% Kitty K. Burton (Libertarian) 0.3% Arly H. Pedersen (Ind. American) 0.2%
Vermont	Madeleine Kunin	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY Madeleine Kunin (Democratic) 55.3% Michael Bernhardt (Republican) 43.3% Richard Gottlieb (Liberty Union) 1.2%
Washington	Booth Gardner	Democratic	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	Green tickY Booth Gardner (Democratic) 62.2% Robert Williams (Republican) 37.8%
West Virginia	Arch A. Moore Jr.	Republican	1968 1976 (term-limited) 1984	Incumbent lost re-election. New governor elected. Democratic gain.	Green tickY Gaston Caperton (Democratic) 58.9% Arch A. Moore Jr. (Republican) 41.1%

• 1988 United States elections
  • 1988 United States presidential election
  • 1988 United States Senate elections
  • 1988 United States House of Representatives elections