The 1990 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 1990 to elect the governor of Maine. Incumbent Republican governor John McKernan won re-election to a second term, defeating Democratic nominee, former governor Joseph E. Brennan in a tight contest. Independent Andrew Adam took in 9.3% of the vote. This was the last election until 2010 that Maine elected a Republican governor. This was also the last Maine gubernatorial election until 2022 in which the winner was of the same party as the incumbent president. This is also the last Maine gubernatorial election that an incumbent governor won with a smaller margin of victory in that person's re-election bid.
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![]() County results McKernan: 40–50% 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||||||
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General election
editCandidates
edit- Joseph E. Brennan (Democratic), former governor of Maine and incumbent U.S. Representative from the 1st congressional district
- John R. McKernan (Republican), incumbent governor of Maine
- Andrew Adam (independent)
Results
editParty | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | John R. McKernan (incumbent) | 243,766 | 46.68% | − | |
Democratic | Joseph E. Brennan | 230,038 | 44.05% | − | |
Independent | Andrew Adam | 48,377 | 9.27% | − | |
Plurality | 13,728 | 2.63% | |||
Turnout | 522,181 | ||||
Republican hold | Swing |